Second Time Around
by CrzyAngelchic
Summary: COMPLETE! After Angelina leaves Hogwarts. She meets Oliver Wood, famous Quidditch player and old friend but can they really go back to being friends after sparks are rekindled? Especially with a war going on and pressures from Fred. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Thanks to Charlie for beta-ing. Thanks to angelface04 for inspiring this story. Her story Closest Thing to Heaven is really good. Ok, hope you enjoy the story. Please read and review.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the books. (I do own Anderson though) All rights go to J.K. Rowling.

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**---- CHAPTER 1 ----**

Angelina knew that if she really wanted a spot on the Chudley Cannons Reserve team she would have to train all this summer. Granted this wasn't the easiest of tasks to do when she was located smack dab in the middle of nowhere. She would have to move out of her parents' house—and close to a training center—as soon as possible. She had already started jogging every morning into the neighboring town, but not even that was safe now that Voldemort was back. The dementors had turned against the ministry, the death eaters were slowly breaking out of Azkaban, and the attacks were growing. She read about these things in the _Daily Prophet_ but it was hard to think of them affecting her. She needed to train.

She stepped out into the early morning sun and started her routine stretches. After graduating Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as captain of her Quidditch team, she had barely taken a break to enjoy her summer with friends. Everyone had split up anyway.

She started on a light jog down the path that led to the main road outside her neighborhood. She let her mind wander, as it usually did when she jogged. She really did miss her friends. Especially her best friends Alicia and Katie. Alicia had graduated with her but had moved to Edinburgh to do an internship at her uncle's firm. Katie still had one year at Hogwarts left and had gone to Sweden for the entire summer. Lee and the twins, Fred and George, ran the joke shop in Diagon Alley but she was almost never over in London.

She reached the main road and jogged in the direction of the town. She thought about hers and Fred's shaky relationships. It had been a series of on and offs after the last year of Hogwarts. She remembered that at one time she really did love him. But now it just seemed empty. He had quit the school at the end of the 7th year and she hadn't seen him much after that. That made her feel bad. Sure, she was training almost every hour of the day—when she wasn't out looking for a flat to move into—but she should find time to go and see him. To at least catch up, Angelina thought. She made up her mind to floo over there this very afternoon.

She eventually reached town but kept jogging until she went passed all the stores and houses. She stopped to take a quick break and conjured herself a bottle of water. She had been of age since last October and could do magic and apparate anytime she wanted. She chose to walk or jog mostly, though, to build up her muscles and stamina. She just _had_ to get on the team. Oliver Wood, who graduated two years ahead of her, still played for Puddlemere United and that inspired her more than ever. She had secretly idolized him, as a Quidditch player that is, when they were in school. It had always been her dream to be a famous player. She just needed to train.

Seeing that the sun was starting to brighten the sky, she disposed of her water bottle and started her jog home. Her mom would be up making breakfast and she was sure to miss those meals once she'd moved out.

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Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, the new keeper of the Puddlemere United Quidditch team was putting his robes away for the last practice session of the season.

"All ready, Wood?" a cheery voice boomed from behind.

Oliver turned around to shake hands with his fellow teammate and roommate. Anderson was one of the beaters for the Puddlemere United team and his beefy hands and stout figure made him look almost beastly, which was always good for intimidating other teams. But Oliver knew Anderson was more like a big teddy bear. Him and his wife just had their first baby and Oliver wouldn't have known that the big guy could get any softer.

"I can't wait to get home and spend some time with Marcy and Angela," he said, a big goofy smile coming over his face. Oliver chuckled.

"Well, congrats with that. Tell Marcy, 'hi' for me and tell her I'll stop by for some of her famous stews one of these days."

"Yeah, yeah. I will," Anderson said smiling. "Where are you going for the summer anyway?"

Oliver thought for a second. He still wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do. He supposed he could go back to his parents' house.

"I'll probably be in London at my parents' house for a while. But you know, anytime you feel like having Uncle Oli baby-sit for the little precious, you just owl me." And he meant it too. Anderson had become more than just a friend for him throughout the years.

"You better be sure of it," he said clapping Oliver on the back. "Anyway, I'm heading out. I want to catch the earliest portkey out of here."

Oliver waved goodbye and got back to packing away his practice things. He was the last one to leave practice, everyone having said their goodbyes for the summer already. He dragged his bag outside the changing rooms and out the main door. Once outside he apparated to the flat he shared with Anderson.

Of course, Anderson wasn't there now. No one would be there for the summer. It was common practice for the members of the team to rent flats out near the practice center, since they did have so many practices during Quidditch season. Summer time, however, everyone went home to their families or spouses. Oliver didn't have a wife waiting for him at home so he stayed at the flat for a while.

After a long shower and something to eat, Oliver started to wonder _why_ he didn't have a wife or even a girlfriend waiting urgently for him to come home. After all, he was a famous Quidditch player—though he had just been placed on the team after being reserves for the past two years. But still, girls should be crawling all over him. He thought of all the girls that had slipped him addresses in the pubs he'd been in, but then thought to hell with it. He didn't really feel like doing anything right now. He didn't have many passions—except Quidditch. And that was over. So, he thought to do the next best thing. Buy Quidditch supplies.

Getting up from the table he went to go get dressed, taking care to put on some of his nicest clothes and robes and brushing his hair. Maybe he could find a date and get Quidditch supplies all at once. A day complete. With an approving nod at his reflection in the mirror, he apparated over to Diagon Alley.

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Angelina glanced over her robes one more time as she prepared to floo over to Diagon Alley. Her long black hair curled slightly passed her shoulders and clashed pleasantly with the light color of her robes. Deep chocolate eyes stared out from an attractive face and her mocha-toned skin looked vibrant and healthy. Of course Angela didn't see all of that. She did like the light turquoise robes, however, so she shrugged once and walked down to the dining room fireplace.

After stumbling through the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron she dusted off her robes and waved hello to the owner. She walked out to the back, pushed the right combination of bricks, and stepped into the bright sunlight and busy street of Diagon Alley. After hesitating a second, she walked towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

She enjoyed walking through Diagon Alley and looking at all the new merchandise the stores put out. She saw the usual crowd in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies and smiled to herself as the little ones stared admiringly up at whatever new broom was being advertised. She had once done the very same thing.

"Angelina?" someone yelled from behind.

The voice seemed extremely close and hauntingly familiar. She felt a hand grab her shoulder and turned around to see none other than Oliver Wood.

"Wood!" she screamed, her face breaking out into a huge smile.

They enveloped in a hard embrace, each laughing and smiling at the unexpected meeting.

"Oy, I haven't seen you in _forever_!" she beamed up at him, taking in his new appearance. His hair had grown longer and fell almost to his shoulder. His face looked older and a bit beaten but the twinkle in his eyes and the smile remained the same.

Angelina soon realized they had stopped right in the middle of the street staring at each other. She led him over to a table outside of the ice cream parlor and sat down. Excessive training and playing had made him even more fit and muscular than he had been at school. His red shirt blended great with his tan and molded to his muscular chest. She tried not to stare. She was overwhelmed with happiness at seeing him. After all, he was her idol and she hadn't seen him for years.

"What are you doing over here?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm off for the holidays. We don't have as many practices during the summer. Everyone goes home." He smiled slightly here, "You look good, Angie."

She felt herself blushing, turning her face a becoming shade of burgundy. "You too, Wood! Professional Quidditch works for you," she replied slapping at his arm. She was so happy that they could play around like it used to be in school. They had ended badly his last year of school when she chose Fred over him. He apparently got over it and now here he was talking to her.

He shrugged slightly, "Well I only made the professional team this season. I was on reserves."

Angelina didn't know what to say to this so she just smiled. A short silence followed before he smiled at her again.

"So how're you and Fred?"

Angelina almost said 'Fine', before she realized she wasn't exactly _fine_ with Fred anymore. She didn't really want to bring Oliver into her problems, though, so she answered truthfully.

"I was just going over to see him at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Have you been there yet?" At seeing him shake his head 'no', she offered, "Well you can go say hi with me. We can catch up some more."

They started walking towards the twins' shop while discussing various Quidditch teams and plays. When they reached the building with its bright, red sign saying, _Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes_, Angelina didn't hesitate to step through the door.

The place, though small, was packed with wizards and witches of all ages trying the different joke items. The twins themselves were giving public demonstrations at the front of the store. The atmosphere was jovial and Angelina found it contagious. She giggled softly to herself and looked over her shoulder to see Oliver smiling fondly.

Angelina was planning to sneak around behind the performing twins and surprise Fred when she saw that their act was over. Before she could begin moving towards them, a tall blonde girl stepped out of the applauding crowd and kissed Fred flush on the lips. He wrapped his arm around her waist and turned her in a slow circle, laughing into her face. When he turned back towards the door his eyes locked on a shocked-looking Angelina.

"Angie?" he mouthed, letting the girl slide out of his hands.

Angelina didn't respond, just turned around with a thought to get out. She ran smack into a hard, warm body.

"Oh, Angie," it whispered as arms held her close and Fred Weasley pushed his way through the crowd towards them.

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A/N: So what do you think? Hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Yay! Thanks so much to my reviewers for..well…reviewing! Now I know how awesome it feels. Don't forget to do it again :). Alright, so here's the second part. lol. Sorry to leave last chapter on a semi-cliff hanger, it was just too tempting to resist. So lets see how Mr. Fred Weasley handles this.

**A/N2**: This is a short one guys. But I'll update in about a day or two.

**A/N3:** Thanks to my beta, Charlie, for help with the story!**   
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**Disclaimer:**Don't own any characters from the Harry Potter books 'cept original characters. Please don't sue. All rights go to Ms. Rowling.

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"Angie?" he mouthed, letting the girl slide out of his hands. 

Angelina didn't respond, just turned around with a thought to get out. She ran smack into a hard, warm body.

"Oh, Angie," it whispered as arms held her close and Fred Weasley pushed his way through the crowd towards them.

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Oliver held Angelina tight, wondering what the hell was going on. He shot daggers at Fred Weasley as he rushed over to them. Oliver was willing to hold on to Angie for as long as possible but Fred approached and so he loosened his hold. Angelina turned slowly towards Fred, who Oliver still believed was her boyfriend.

"Angie?" Fred asked, tentatively. Oliver glared at him. Why was he acting as if he didn't know who she was? Angelina wasn't a person you easily forgot. But apparently Fred did, judging by the tall blonde girl who was now staring curiously over at the trio.

"Hello, Fred," Angelina said coolly. No tears were present and her voice was cold as ice when she spoke.

Fred fidgeted uncomfortably, a nervous smile hanging on his face.

To everyone's surprise, Angelina continued coldly, "How's the shop?"

Oliver stared disbelievingly at her. What was going on? Before Fred could answer, Oliver demanded, "Who the hell is that girl, Fred?"

Apparently Fred hadn't notice Oliver before, and now broke into a big smile. After taking a look at the Quidditch player's hard expression though, his smile slipped off his face.

"Look guys, …Angelina," he said glancing back at her cold expression, "Its not what you think…"

"To hell it isn't," she shouted, her cool exterior breaking at last.

Oliver was caught between laughing and hexing him into oblivion. He couldn't believe Fred had used that pitiful excuse. What was he going to say? The girl was his healer?

"We haven't even officially broken up, you oaf!" she said, punching his arm. She glared over his shoulder, "and now you're with that…that hag!" Oliver notice several people throwing them curious glances. Remembering how huge Fred and Angie's fights could be in the common room back at school, Oliver prepared for the worst.

"Now wait a minute, _Angelina_," he yelled back. "You haven't answered any of my owls since I left school!"

Angelina was quiet for a second and Oliver was afraid Fred had gotten to her.

"_You left me_ remember?" she shot back. "And funny, I don't remember you're letters mentioning a blonde _bimbo_!" Her voice had risen considerably, but now dropped down to a low growl. "How long did it take for you to start shagging her, huh, Fred? 'Cause your letters weren't that numerous either way."

Oliver could distinctly hear sniggering now and he was sure only the children continued playing with their joke items, unaffected by the arguing.

Fred winced at her words and glared at her without saying anything. He looked over his shoulder to see the girl in question talking to George. Her words were coming out fast, though no one from the trio could hear, and George listened with a frown on his face.

Fred turned back around and the nervous smile returned to his face. "Listen Angie, lets talk about this somewhere else 'cause, uh…we're scaring away the customers. Yeah."

Oliver was sure not one person had left the store since the argument started, all choosing to form a rough circle around the arguing pair instead.

Angelina just glared at him for a second. "Fine," she said. But Oliver thought he heard her mumble, "Like I give a damn about your loss of customers." She turned towards the door with Fred close behind.

Oliver realized that this private talk would ultimately exclude him. Feeling the need to have his say, he shouted, "I'll be here when you get back, Ange," at her departing back. Angelina gave him a small smile while Fred glared openly at him.

After the couple left, the store returned to its usual bustle. Though it did seem the conversations were quite animated.

Shrugging, Oliver made his way over to George just as Blonde Bimbo huffed her way through the crowd and through the doors.

"Oli!" George said simply, smiling widely at him. Maybe a little too wide. "Want the grand tour?" he asked, gesturing around the store. Oliver supposed George didn't want to discuss the fight that was probably still going on at a more secluded location. Not one to pry for second hand information, Oliver took him up on the offer. After all, him and George had not been on the best of terms when Oliver graduated either. Come to think of it, that was not a very good year for him.

Lee Jordan eventually came from the back room to greet Oliver and to ask excitedly about the argument. George didn't really answer any questions and Oliver was happy to pretend he had no idea what was going on. Lee eventually switched over to Oliver's rising professional Quidditch career and some of the tension was lost from the group.

It seemed no time passed before Angelina was coming back through the doors, an unreadable expression on her face. When her eyes locked on his, Oliver saw her smile slightly and make her way towards him.

Oliver wondered where Fred had gone but it was Lee who voiced the question.

"Where'd Fred get to?" he asked innocently.

An angry-exasperated look came over her face and Oliver was sure Angelina had things she wanted to say. Instead she mumbled, "Dunno."

"Hey Angie…" George said finally, looking almost as nervous as his brother.

She turned softened eyes to the present twin. "Hi George. Sorry I couldn't stay to see the store." She suddenly looked tired and, yes, a bit sad Oliver concluded. "I'm still looking for a flat to move into, so I'll have to stop by another time." She gave a small smile to assure her promise.

"No problem, Ange. It was good seeing you again." He paused slightly before adding with a shrug, "my brother's a git."

She gave a bigger smile and reached up to give both George and Lee a hug. After that she turned to Oliver and he was sure he could see each and every emotion reflected in her beautifully shaped eyes. Why she even went with that git, he didn't know. She was so beautiful.

"Thanks for coming with me, Oliver," she said softly.

"No problem," he answered, finding it hard to tear his gaze away. "I want to spend time with all of you guys again," he said, talking to the group. "It could be like school again, but better of course. No classes."

They all chuckled at that and it seemed no one was willing to part. Eventually though, Oliver mentioned visiting his parents and Lee and George wished them goodbye while giving them a couple samples from their joke merchandise. Oliver made a mental note not to open any of the packages as he and Angelina stepped out into the dazzling sunlight.

If only life was this bright, they thought in unison. But somewhere down a corner street, a certain redheaded, freckled-faced jokester cursed the heavens and its ebony angel from earth.

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A/N: Sorry it's so short. But I had this written for a while and I just needed to get it out. I'll have the next chapter up within a couple days. Tell me what you think. Or even where you want it to go (even tho I have my ideas in mind). :-) 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Firstly, thanks all the reviewers for reviewing. Angelface04, I love your reviews and I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry I lied, guys. I said the next chapter would be up in a couple of days, but I had a pretty bad case of writers block. I watched as people updated their stories around me. And still I sat at my computer, poking around with my ideas. Well I finally just sat down and got to it. And I got something that I like pretty much. A lot more action in this chapter. It's long too. Tell me what you think.

A/N2: Thanks to my beta Charlie again!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Harry Potter books, series, characters, or world. All that stuff belongs to Ms. Rowling. All original characters are mine. (This goes for all chapters. I'm getting tired for writing it)

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Fred Weasley took another blind turn, barely registering that his feet were taking him to darker and darker alleys. His mind was reeling with all the things he should've said to Angelina.

_Like 'I'm sorry'?_ One part of his brain suggested.

Fred frowned. Angrily, he kicked at the loose pebbles lining the street. What did he have to be sorry for? But he knew the answers already and before he could stop the better half of his brain, it had constructed a list.

_Oh, I dunno, Fred, maybe for leaving her at Hogwarts. Fighting with her that last time you left. You know she didn't want you to set off that swamp. Then there's hooking up with Marcella at the party; Forgetting to mention her in the few guilty owls you had sent to Angelina; Not sending the rest of the owls you had written up and pushed into your vanishing jokes box..._

"Ok, ok!" he yelled out to no one, still caught up in the battle with his conscience. He kicked a few more pebbles. "Maybe I messed up," he mumbled to himself.

It didn't help that Angelina had looked so shocked and hurt when she had seen him with Marcy. Her big brown eyes, which had captivated him so many times before, had grown wide with shock and emotion and her mouth had twisted down into a frown. It had done something squirmy to his insides. He liked it much better when she smiled, he thought with a sigh. He had forgotten how much he'd missed her.

He turned again, unseeing. After his first two owls had gone unanswered, coupled with the scolding and pressure from his mom, Fred had felt almost alone in his efforts to open his joke shop. George had been there too of course. But even George had showed displeasure at Fred moving on to Marcy so quickly.

He had needed that break though, he argued to himself. Marcy was different. She was older, new, …_different_. She didn't care that he hadn't finish Hogwarts. She loved his joke shop. She was doting, and supportive, and, and…good in bed. He blushed hotly for a second, then immediately felt guilty. Even in this "better" relationship with Marcy, Fred still thought about Angelina. It would creep up on him in the oddest of times before he would push it back down again and ignore the guilt.

Scowling, he went to kick at more pebbles until he realized the pebble-lined street was no more. He stopped to look around and found himself in a completely unfamiliar part of town. He must have long left Diagon Alley, but where was he now? He was weary of apparating back to the shop without knowing where he was to begin with. He didn't feel like being splinched today.

He felt his apprehension grow when he couldn't see any witches or wizards walking around. How he managed to miss the bustle of shoppers from Diagon Alley he didn't know, but the shops on this street looked anything like the ones normal wizards shopped in.

The store directly in front of him had a huge black toad painted on its front with red eyes. "Toadstools" was all that was written above the croaking toad in blood red letters. The windows of the store were too dark to see inside and no sound reached the outside. Fred wondered briefly if it was closed when suddenly a goblin came out of its big brown doors, gave Fred a quick sneer, and ambled down the street to another equally dingy store.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Fred gripped his wand tightly and went to open the brown doors. He just needed to find out where he was and then he'd apparate back to the shop, and maybe back home. He wasn't in the mood for work, anyway, and he suddenly had the urge to find a certain box he had vanished many months ago.

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Angelina apparated right into her bedroom, not feeling like going all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo in. She had guessed that Oliver wanted to spend more time catching up but she had not really been in the mood. They had split after exchanging addresses and a promise to owl each other about meeting up again. He had given her a tight hug, and she a kiss on his cheek before he apparated. Angelina had realized, then, how much she had missed him. Right now though, she was too busy feeling horrible about Fred to focus on the Quidditch player.

Without noticing, her feet had taken her through the house and to the kitchen. No one seemed to be home and Angelina was glad. She could wallow in her stupidity. To actually think that Fred would be sitting there waiting for her to come back to him, that was stupid. But that's exactly what she had thought. She hadn't expected for it to hurt so much.

"You're growing up now, 'Lina," she whispered, using the nickname her dad had given her when she was very young. "You don't have school to shelter you anymore. No one's going to remember you if you don't make them," she said with a frown as she headed over to the freezer.

She opened the icebox, took out the ice cream and set it on the counter with a bowl and a spoon. Charming the spoon to scoop out some double mint chocolate chip ice cream, she went over to the glass doors that led to the backyard. Outside, the trees swayed lazily and the lake all the way at the edge of the property looked inviting. She stood there for a while, deciding whether or not to bring her foul mood out into the cheery backyard, when she heard a tapping.

At first she couldn't find what had made the noise. The kitchen looked deserted and the windows were open, their draperies blowing in the wind.

The tapping came again, harder. Angelina finally looked down to see a gray owl standing just outside the glass doors, obviously impatient to deliver its message. Angelina opened the doors and the owl hopped inside, holding out its foot and looking crossly at her.

"I'm coming dammit," she said just as crossly as she bent to untie the message. As soon as the note was off, the owl flew out the open window. Angelina unfolded the letter, feeling her heart racing as she began to read.

Barely ten seconds later a loud crack was heard and the parchment floated peacefully down to rest innocently on the linoleum floor. On the counter, the spoon continued to scoop ice cream until the bowl overflowed and melted double mint chocolate chip ice cream spilled over the sides and pooled onto the floor to rest beside the letter in the now deserted kitchen.

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It was just his luck, Oliver lay thinking as he toyed lazily with a palm sized broom. The one time the Woods could see their son for more than an hour before he raced off to a game or practice, and they were on vacation. Of course they had _just_ missed him and now he was stuck at home while they were lost somewhere in the Bermuda triangle. _He_ hadn't gone missing in the Bermuda triangle since he was 12. They always went on the fun vacations when he wasn't available. And now who knows when they'll be back. One time they were lost for weeks, finally turning up in some cave in a big canyon somewhere in America.

After apparating to the house and finding it empty, he had visited his aunt nearby. She had bombarded him with questions about his career (and his love life) and he had spent at least 20 minutes playing with his cousins before she told him the news about his parents. She invited him to stay with her for the holidays but, for then, he had only stayed for lunch. After that he went to check in on some old friends, went to buy food (to stock up because the house was nearly empty) and now here he was laying on his bed, bored out of his mind, missing Quidditch, and thinking about nothing. Well, he wasn't exactly thinking about nothing. But thinking about Angelina wasn't so great an idea either.

It didn't matter that she had grown into a captivating young woman, hardly the 16-year-old girl he remembered in school. Or that he had forgotten what every other female on the planet had looked like when she had smiled up at him, glad to meet him again. No, it didn't matter. She was still with Fred. He'd seen the look in her eyes when she had first gone into the store looking for the twin. He had seen her eyes after Fred hurt her. Hell, he had seen Fred's eyes too. It was like 7th year all over again and he wasn't sure if he was mad or sad about it. He supposed he shouldn't care. He'd given up on what had been love for her a long time ago.

But what about the second time around? Could he fall for her again? He tried to analyze his feelings but it was all a big blur and he figured it was too soon to go looking into that stuff. But it was getting boring thinking about Quidditch all the time. Though of course he'd never admit that to anyone but himself. And only in the darkest of hours.

Such as this one, he thought as he flipped over onto his side. He decided to keep his mind peacefully blank and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Not much later it seemed, he heard a _crack_ and felt a body land hard on his ribs.

"Ow!" he cried out, scrambling to get off the bed and seize the intruder.

The body sniffed loudly and mumbled an apology. Fighting with the covers that had become tangled around his face, Oliver stopped in mid struggle and focused on the voice that he had been hearing over and over in his head since he'd become reacquainted with it that morning. The fuzzy shape, all he could see through his sheet, sat up in the middle of the bed and looked towards him, not saying a word. When Oliver lifted off the covers he was met with a very sad and teary looking Angelina.

She rocked back and forth in the middle of the bed and kept nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, not looking at him. " I didn't want to go back by myself," she said almost to herself.

Oliver had no idea what she was talking about but she worried him. Angelina wasn't one to break down so easily. Oliver vowed to hex Fred into the next realm if he ever saw him again.

"It's ok, Angie, you don't have to go back," he said, offering the comforting words without fully understanding them.

She looked up at him then as if just seeing him. "No, no. I can't go back. It's too weird. You don't understand," she whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek and she began tucking the strand of hair behind her ear again.

She was right, Oliver didn't understand. And his apprehension was growing with every second. Something told him it had nothing to do with Fred, and Oliver felt useless. He walked over to her and sat beside her on the bed. Wiping away the tear, he took her face in his hands.

"Tell me what happened."

She looked like she was about to cry again, but then she took a deep breath. "My parents were attacked. Death Eaters attacked the little town by my house."

He let his hands slide down to hers and squeezed. He had heard about the Death Eater attacks randomly throughout the summer. He never thought they would affect him. But here he was, wishing he could use unforgivables on each and every one of them.

He reached one hand around to stroke her back. He, himself, was too angry to speak, but she continued.

"I didn't know what to do. I got an anonymous letter saying that there had been an attack and that my parents were involved. I apparated right over to St. Mungo's but they claimed that they weren't there. According to them, there had been no Death Eater attacks reported," she turn troubled eyes to him. She seemed so lost again. "But I had read the letter. And my parents weren't home. The house was so…empty."

She was quiet for a while. Then she started to laugh. Well, chuckle actually. And Oliver thought she had lost her mind.

"I didn't know where to go so I went back to the shop. You know, to see Fred. But of course, he wasn't there and Lee didn't know where he was. That was when we got the news. There was an attack going on in a small town in Abbotswood." Her eyes grew wide and she whispered, "The attack was happening then. The note wasn't telling me about the attack, it was telling me that it was going to happen!"

She got off the bed so fast he didn't even have time to say something before she started pacing. Her voice was angry. "And I didn't do anything. Oh, I was going to. But Lee stopped me. It was over quick anyway. Three people died. Lots of injuries. Mum's got a broken leg and some cuts. But Dad's…dad's" she choked on the words and Oliver got off the bed to hold her close for the second time that day. He didn't push her to say it. Whatever it was, she'd say it.

"He's not waking up. He got hit with a powerful curse. Mum's worried sick and I don't know, I couldn't stay there. And I couldn't go home." She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked around the room. "And before I knew it I was here. I was just thinking about you… about you reading about it in the _Daily Prophet_. 'The Johnsons, just one of the many families attacked, …'" she paused for a second. "Would they have even mentioned us?" Her eyes grew large and frightened. "You would've never known! You would've gone back to Quidditch and Fred would have carried on with his store and no one would have ever known and no one would come and help us. No one would care—"

He shoved her head against his shoulder to stop her words. Just hearing her talk about the events was enough to make his heart pound without hearing the fear in her voice as well.

"I'd never leave you, Angel. I would've searched the entire world for you before I went back," he whispered brokenly. He felt her crying against his chest, her tears soaking through his thin shirt.

"It's just so much, Oliver," her muffled voiced said from his chest. "And now Fred's mad at me. And no one from the family came. My brother's not even in the country. He doesn't know."

"Shh, shh, we'll tell him and the healers will fix everyone up." _And I will hold you forever if you want me to. _

He let her cry for a while, but all too soon her tears were gone. She started to wiggle around uncomfortably in his arm and he eventually loosened his hold and stepped back, keeping his arms around her lower back.

She sniffed again and looked up sheepishly up at him. There weren't many times Oliver saw his Angie teary eyed and shy. She reminded him of a little girl and he smiled down fondly at her, hoping to assuage her fears.

She looked back at his shirt. "I've made a mess of you, Oli," she said matter-of-factly. She started reaching for her wand to dry up the tearstains but he stopped her. She was becoming rather fussy, but he supposed it was just a reaction to all the crying and confessing she's done.

"It's ok, I was going to change for—well, I was going to change anyway." He had almost started saying 'change for bed'. He hadn't notice how late it was, but guessing by the stars peaking out from the night sky outside the window, it was pretty late. She must have been at the hospital all day. He looked down at her to see her stifling a yawn.

"Well you're not going back to your house tonight," he said forcefully, watching her nod a sleepy agreement. "I don't know what the deal was with that letter, but I don't like the sound of it."

"Yeah, I don't know what it means…" she added sleepily.

Oliver realized she was in danger of falling asleep right on the spot. He led her to the bed and sat her down. "Just sit a second. I'll find you some clothes to change into."

He saw her raise an eyebrow briefly before falling back into a sleepy stupor. He ran over to his chest of drawers and extracted a large clean t-shirt and his smallest pair of Quidditch workout shorts.

He returned to the bed and almost panicked when he saw her lying down. He would _not_ be changing her clothes for her. And before his mind could form wonderful images, she was sitting up and muttering her thanks, taking the clothes.

"Um, yeah, I'll be a couple rooms down on the right. The bathroom is right next door so, uh, call me if you need anything." And with that he left the room and closed the door behind him.

He walked down the hall towards his little brother's room willing himself to think of anything but Angelina Johnson getting undressed in his room and sleeping on his bed. And yet, as he crawled into the Puddlemere United themed covers he had bought for his brother many years ago, he couldn't help but hope that his angel would come seek him in the middle of the night. If for nothing more than to seek comfort, and perhaps bless him with some comfort of her own. With that thought, Oliver drifted away on wings no less heavenly than his angel's, only rooms away.

- - -

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A/N: Woo! Hope you all liked it. Angie's in Oliver's room eh? Wearing his clothes? Lol. I know, I get too excited. Well, what ya think? Please **review**. I love to see them and they help me write better and make me update faster. 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Whoa! Thanks sooo much for the reviews last chapter. I really am turning into a review junkie. Also, in response to a few of your questions:

_Evilevergreen_: thanks so much for your consistent reviews! Who sent the letter? You'll see in a later chapter, but don't worry, things will start to unfold.

_Angelface04_: lol. Thanks for the review. Funny you should suspect Fred. I was wondering if anyone would see that. Well, you'll see who sent it in a later chapter. And yeah, I've never written fan fiction before. But I do like creative writing. So I have some random stories of my own.

And thanks to _missmcweir, Megan, Ashliegh, _and_ Quiddie15_, for reviewing as well. You guys are awesome.

And thanks to my beta Charlie, for continuous help. :-)

OK, enough taking up space. Here's chapter 4.

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- - - -**CHAPTER 4**- - - -

Angelina woke the next morning groggy and very hungry. It took her a minute to remember why she hadn't eaten, and when she did, she groaned inwardly. She opened her eyes and took in the unfamiliarity of the room. She saw various furniture, photographs, and workout equipment. Most of all, though, she saw posters. Various players and teams smiled and waved at her from every corner of the room. A large poster of Oliver on the right side of the door winked at her and blew kisses. Angelina didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed at the ego of her host. Puddlemere United posters dominated the walls, but she caught sight of others too, such as her dream team, the Chudley Cannons.

She thought back to her summer plans of training and moving away from her parents. She felt tears welling up and cursed at herself, wondering when she'd become such a crybaby.

Of course it had felt so natural to cry all over Oliver last night. He had held her and murmured comforting words. She looked down at the large t-shirt that was not her own. And he had clothed her, she thought with a small smile.

"My savior," she said rolling her eyes.

Well, she wasn't going to be a walking water fountain today. Yesterday had been a tiring day, and her parents had needed all the support she could give. She'd promised to give as much as possible.

She got up, deciding to thank Oliver for letting her stay overnight and then head over to St. Mungo's. Suddenly her nose twitched and her stomach grumbled as the wonderful smell of breakfast wafted up to her nose. Maybe she'd stay a little while longer.

She found him busy in the kitchen. Angelina was quite surprised to find out he could cook. She could barely boil eggs without burning the pot.

She had washed her face and changed back into her robes from the night before, trying to look as close to normal as she could. She had been shocked to see how haggard she had looked. Her eyes had been puffy and glossy. Her hair swirled around her head like an owl's nest, and she had been dying to take a shower. But she felt wearing one's clothes and sleeping in one's bed was enough, without getting completely naked in their house too. She wondered briefly if he would've minded.

"Mornin' sunshine," he said over his shoulder, somehow knowing she had entered the kitchen.

She smiled at his back as he oversaw the stirring of batter for what she guessed were pancakes.

"Hello to you too, chef," she replied cheerily.

He turned around finally, lifting his wand and stopping the stirring. "You're feeling better then?" he asked, his eyes searching her face.

She basked in his gaze and nodded. She truly did feel better.

And she truly did feel hungry. Sitting at the kitchen table, she took a strip of bacon to snack on while he cooked.

"I think I just needed rest. A time to clear my head, you know?" The bacon was a little burnt, but she liked it like that. She supposed she should offer help, but she didn't think he would want his pancakes burnt as well. So she sat still. There was something to be said about a guy working in the kitchen, she thought coyly. He was dressed in muggle clothes. His shorts covered powerful legs and the cut off t-shirt showed even stronger arms and his muscled chest. Not that she was staring or anything, but he had a wonderful body.

She was busy convincing herself that it was the fire that was making her feel so warm when a sausage soared into the air and landed with a plop into her cup of pumpkin juice. She looked up to see a bewildered Oliver looking at his wand and then back at the sausage bobbing in the cup, and then into her eyes.

They stared at each other for a second.

"And I would've just burnt the pot," Angelina said almost to herself.

Oliver's face broke into a grin. And then he was laughing. And then he was howling as Angelina poked at the sausage in her cup and laughed along.

"Ok, that's it. We don't need sausages," he said, red in his face. "I never really liked pork anyway," he said again. He came closer to examine the floating sausage.

"Yeah, it's bad for you," Angelina breathed as his head came delightfully close to hers. He peered down into her cup of pumpkin juice.

"Is it supposed to turn that color?" he asked, pointing at the now murky, greenish, sausage-laced cup of pumpkin juice.

"Well it's not supposed to have sausage in it," she said seriously. Although she pretended to ponder the situation, Angelina fought to hold back giggles.

Oliver turned frightened eyes to hers.

"I was talking about the _sausage_…"

Angelina laughed at him and smacked his arm. "You're too much!"

She peered into his hazel eyes, thinking.

"You've changed," she said finally.

He smiled. "Me? Not at all."

"Yes you have," she replied, remembering. "What happened to the super-strict, 'it's Quidditch time, not fun time,'- slowly-working-himself-into-an-early-grave Oliver?"

"Why? Do you find him sexier?" he asked suddenly.

She laughed again, her eyes lighting up. "See! You're doing it again!"

"Doing what?"

"_Joking!_" she said with emphasis. "Being relaxed, fun. What we've tried to get you to do all seventh year."

"Yes, well, if you remember correctly, seventh year wasn't exactly my best Hogwarts year."

There was just a hint of sadness in his statement and Angelina felt her stomach twist slightly with guilt. Within a second, though, he was continuing.

"And over the years, I've come to realize that you don't have to be a tight-ass to play Quidditch."

Angelina hid a smile behind the new cup of pumpkin juice she had just conjured.

"I could've told you that," she mumbled.

Oliver ignored her. "Plus, I still love Quidditch. I'm just as passionate as before—minus the stress."

Angelina nodded, "That's the best way to be."

Oliver smiled at that and went back to cooking breakfast.

"By the way," she said, taking another strip of bacon. "Where're your parents?"

Angelina had been a little surprised, and thrilled, to find that they were the only two people in the house. She watched as he turned around and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms.

"My parents and little brother went on vacation. Bermuda triangle." He raised one eyebrow and winked, "Could be gone for weeks."

Angelina ignored the last part and laughing said, "Awesome. I haven't been there in a while. Why didn't you go too?"

"'Cause I just knew you'd be coming one evening to spend the night with me, sleeping in my bed and wearing my clothes."

She threw a strip of bacon at him and then regretted it as she saw that the supply was dwindling.

"You cad," she said smiling.

He smiled back and turned to the unfinished breakfast.

Angelina liked the company so much, she was willing, for a while, to push back thoughts of the attack. She sat at the table, head rested on her folded hands, and watched Oliver work magic in the kitchen—literally.

That was how the owl found her. An owl sweeped through an open window and landed clumsily in front of Angelina. She stared at it for a second, and then felt her heart speed up as déjà vu hit her. She fed the owl a little piece of bacon and untied the letter. Looking at the front of the scroll, she saw that it only contained her name.

It was another anonymous letter, she thought in a panic.

But wait a second. She knew that handwriting. She looked at the owl again, innocently eating the bacon. She even knew the owl.

Oliver came over to the table, bringing two plates heaped with pancakes. "News from St. Mungo's?" he asked.

"No" she said with a sigh of relief. "It's from Fred."

Oliver said nothing as she unsealed the letter and began to read to herself.

_Angie! Are you all right? I saw the_ Daily Prophet. _I went to the hospital but you weren't there. Oh Angie, I'm sorry about the attack but I want to tell you that face to face. You're not at home so I'm thinking you're at a relative's house or something. Owl me back when you get this. I sent this with Errol. He's waiting for a reply. I have to speak to you. _

_Fred_

Angie felt her face heat up again. She wasn't at a relative's house. She wondered what Fred would say if she told him she'd spent the night at Oliver's. She was just imagining the reaction when something else from the letter caught her attention.

It was in the _Daily Prophet_.

She tried to sound cheery, but her voice shook a little as she addressed her host. "He says the _Daily Prophet_ wrote a story on the attack. You didn't get the paper did you, Oliver?"

He had turned away to get the eggs and she had the feeling he was trying to avoid her. When he turned back, he had a funny look on his face.

"Well, yeah I did," he said slowly. "But Angie, the story is really weird. I don't really know what's happening," he said, stalling. He conjured up a cup of pumpkin juice for himself.

Angelina raised one delicate eyebrow. "Can I see it?" she asked, noticing how now, he wouldn't look directly at her.

"Ok," he said at last, shrugging. He left the room and came back with that morning's newspaper.

Angelina gasped when she saw the large picture dominating the front page. It showed her little town in complete ruin. Houses and shops were smoking, their signs hanging loosely or on the ground with debris. Aurors could be seen keeping people at bay and one little girl was crying at the very corner of the picture.

She hadn't known how much damage had been done to the town. After talking with Lee, she had apparated straight to St. Mungo's in time to see them bringing in her parents. She had stayed with them all day.

But that wasn't the most shocking thing on the page. A big, bold headline stood out above the picture, affecting Angelina much more than the picture had.

GIRL PREDICTS ONE OF LARGEST DEATH EATER RAIDS TO HIT ALL SUMMER!

Angelina knew they were talking about her before she even scanned the article and found the evidence. Somehow they had gotten a hold of the mediwitch she had spoken with.

"… '_She had come in not 20 minutes before the attack started, demanding that I tell her where her parents were.' A mediwitch on duty exclaimed. 'I thought she might have been sick herself, but I would've never guessed she would be predicting the attack! Imagine my surprise to see all these aurors show up later with casualties…_'" Angelina read aloud.

She skimmed down the article and her eyes filled up. Many more than three people had died in the attack. She must have been so caught up in worrying about her parents she didn't notice how many people had been coming in to the hospital.

And she had known. She had been forewarned.

She tried to remember the contents of the letter, but it was all a blur. She had barely finished reading it before she had disapparated. Could she have warned someone? Told the aurors, maybe?

She looked up slowly at Oliver, afraid of what he must think of her.

"It wasn't your fault," he said, looking into her eyes. "You couldn't have known."

She looked over at the letter Fred had sent her. The owl was now hooting softly and looking at the plate of bacon. Would Fred believe her too?

- - - - - - - -

Fred glanced at the window for the fiftieth time and continued pacing. It was the worst kind of irony to have the attack be the very same day that Angie had come back into his life. Of course, he had sent her away because of his stupidity, he thought angrily to himself. Bloody ironic.

His heart had nearly stopped when he'd read the _Daily Prophet_. He'd recognized the town's name first, and then when they mentioned Angelina herself, he had started to panic. It didn't help that he couldn't find her at the hospital, and when he went to the house it was eerily empty. He'd told himself to calm down. He would write her a letter. She was probably at an aunt's house.

But if that letter didn't come back in exactly three minutes, he thought glancing up at a clock, he'd go find her himself.

He was just going over all the people he could contact if, indeed, he didn't get her response—and there weren't many—when Errol flew through the window and landed sloppily on a table. He hurriedly unattached the scroll and opened it.

_I'm coming._

Was all it said. Fred stared at it for a second and then jumped when he heard a loud _crack_. Turning around he saw that Angelina had apparated right into his bedroom.

"We have to talk."

Before Fred could react, another crack was heard.

Oliver Wood stood behind Angelina with his hand on her shoulder.

Relief at seeing that Angelina was all right was instantly replaced with anger.

"What're _you_ doing here?"

Oliver didn't move a muscle. "I'm with Angie."

Fred glared and was about to say a nasty retort when Angelina stepped forward. Her eyes looked very sad and he felt himself becoming worried again.

"Look Fred, I didn't know about the attack before hand. I got an anonymous letter saying that there _was_ an attack," she said pleading. He was curious at her behavior. Surely she wasn't blaming herself for the attack.

She paused, her brows furrowed in confusion. "But at the time there was no attack. I don't know what to think. Why was I warned?" She dropped her eyes, and her shoulders slumped. "And yet I still couldn't help my parents. And now, my—my dad isn't…isn't well."

Fred rushed forward and enveloped her. He had been so worried for her. When he had gone to the hospital looking for her, he was told about her parents' condition. He ached for the girl who had meant so much to him all those years. She still did.

He leaned back to gently take her face in his hands. He expected to see tears, but her eyes were dry, albeit sad.

"I'm heading over to St. Mungo's now. Oliver's coming with me. We thought we'd go back to the house afterwards and find the note. We could turn it in. See if it has any clues about the Death Eaters."

Fred looked over at Oliver where he stood leaning against the wall. His eyes roved over Fred as he held on to Angelina. Fred ignored the piercing stare. He removed his hands from Angelina's face and held her hands.

"I'm coming too," he said, looking into her eyes. "We'll figure out what's going on, Ange, don't worry."

She smiled briefly at him. "Thanks," she whispered.

She looked over to Oliver and with a nod they all disapperated, her hand still grasped firmly in Fred's.

* * *

A/N: The last scene was hard to write but I hope its ok. :-). Please **review**. By the way, I have to go away on a band trip to Canada in a few days (yay!) so I wont be updating for a while. I know what's going to happen though, so I'll keep writing and maybe post the next chapter when I come back. Hope you all like the story so far, lots more to come. 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ahhh! You guys spoil me! Lol, no jk, please don't stop reviewing. I love them. I know I said I wouldn't have the next chapter up until after I got back, but I just got so into it, that I just had to post it up early. It's fresh out of the oven, so please be careful. It's hot! Lol, my sad attempt at humor. Ok, so you know the spiel. _Please_ review. I love 'em. See you all in a week!

_Thanks to all my reviewers, evilevergreen, elle, Angelface04, New York Hope, Ashleigh, Megan, Kryz33ang3l and anyone who's reviewed before and after this point._

A/N2 As always, special thanks goes out to my beta Charlie:)

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**- - - - CHAPTER FIVE - - - -**

Oliver walked just a little ahead, trying not to overhear them, and feeling like a third wheel. Fred had continued to fuss over Angelina, (ignoring her repeated outbursts of frustration at being mollycoddled), and Oliver was two seconds away from grabbing hold of her hand and apparating her off into the sunset.

Fred alternated between holding Angelina and trying to cheer her up. Oliver smiled slightly as he remembered why exactly the twins were considered some of Hogwart's best pranksters. Fred's antics might have worked had he not recently fallen from Angelina's good graces. And Oliver, though slightly amused at Fred's attempts, secretly wished he would disappear. Oliver had always been protective of Angelina and he wasn't sure if Fred was adding to Angelina's stress, or relieving it.

_Maybe you're just jealous._ One voice said in a little corner of his mind.

He ignored it. Of course he wasn't jealous. He just didn't like them walking so close together. Didn't think that Fred really needed to grab hold of her hand every time he had something to say to her. And then there were those couple of minutes where they had disappeared at the hospital, Fred claiming that "they needed to talk".

Oliver had stayed in the waiting room looking lost and forgotten. But he had stayed. He cared about Angelina and what happened to her parents. Plus, she had turned appealing eyes to his and asked if he'd still go to her house to find the letter. He couldn't have refused. And he was reward with one of her dazzling smiles.

Now here he was, walking down the stairs ahead of the two, all three having just apparated into her bedroom.

"Are you sure you want to go looking for the letter, Angie?"

Oliver heard an exasperated sigh and waited for Angelina to start rebuking Fred for his over protectiveness. Instead she simply answered.

"Yes, Fred, I have to. I should've taken it with me from the beginning."

They had reached the living room now and Oliver was about to go through the door that led to the kitchen when he realized his party had stopped.

He looked over to see Fred holding her face gently. "Well, let me and Oliver go in first and make sure everything is ok."

She rolled her eyes and removed his hands from her face.

"Now what makes you think I can't handle whatever might be in the kitchen, but you two can?" she asked, hands on her hips.

He smiled a charmingly crooked smile and looked over at Oliver standing by the door. "Because, Angie," he began, "We're—"

"Frederick Author Weasley, I swear to Merlin if you say, 'because we're men', I'll curse you just to prove I can."

She looked over at Oliver to let him know he would be suffering a similar fate if he agreed with Fred.

Oliver took his wand and vanished his lips. He held up both hands in surrender and tried to say, 'I'm not saying anything', but, realizing its futility, ended up looking very confused.

That caused Angelina to laugh out loud and her eyes lit up like they had that morning at breakfast.

Oliver smiled to himself. He didn't need to talk ever again in his life, he thought, if it'd make her look at him like that.

"Oy, mate, how are you gonna reverse the charm, then?" Fred said at last, a devilish grin coming over his face.

Oliver glared at him.

Angelina rolled her eyes.

She muttered the countercharm and without missing a beat vanished Fred's mouth as well.

Fred looked angry at first but then started laughing, silently of course, and took to making over-exaggerated gestures.

Angelina laughed at him and slipped passed both men into the kitchen.

Oliver grinned at Fred and followed her.

The first thing Oliver noticed about the kitchen, was that it looked completely normal. Everything was neat and clean and a calm breeze could be felt as it fluttered the curtains by the window.

He watched as Angelina went around the kitchen checking various things. Eventually she came back to stand by the guys.

"Well," she said a little weary, "Everything looks ok."

She looked at the counter for a second with a perplexed expression. Oliver looked over too and saw nothing but a basket of fruits resting on its gleaming surface. Eventually she shrugged and went back to looking around.

Fred, uncharacteristically silent, came forward and pulled at her arm, gesturing wildly. When she raised both eyebrows in confusion, he drew a square with his fingers and pretended to write in mid-air. Angelina nodded.

"It was right here. I think I must have dropped it on the counter, but I don't see it now."

"Maybe its on the floor? Or in the living room somewhere," Oliver offered, glad that he, at least, had use of his mouth.

Fred gave a growl and looked at Oliver as if to say _'I was going to suggest that'_.

Angelina bent down and, using her wand, searched in the darkest corners of the kitchen and everywhere in between.

She came back to the guys, who were also searching various drawers and cupboards, and frowned.

"I swear it was right here. I don't know where it is now."

Oliver didn't like the idea of the letter going missing. Could someone have been in the house after she had left?

He was still pondering the possibilities when he heard Angelina laughing again. He looked over to see Fred flapping his arms wildly, almost falling over in his attempt to communicate.

"Oh, this is useless," she replied between giggles and removed the charm.

"About bloody time," he said with mock frustration. "As I was saying, what kind of owl was it? What'd it look like?"

She thought for a second and walked over to the glass doors that led to her back yard. "Well, it was a screech owl. Gray I think. And it had the worst temperament."

No one knew what to make of that so they stood there thinking for a while longer.

"Anything looked suspicious on the letter?" Oliver asked at last.

"No, it was on a plain scroll and only had my name on the front."

She thought a second. "Wait, no, it also had the town name."

This information didn't help much either, for it was common for owl post to not have a specific address but just a name and a reference point.

After another couple of minutes of throwing around ideas, they decided to give up on finding the letter or solving the mystery—for now.

Angelina stretched, and started rubbing her sore shoulders.

Immediately Fred went over to give her a massage and she smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks for coming with me guys," she said when Fred had at last released her.

"I could have _never_ done it without you two, strong, protective wizards," she said with sarcasm. But her eyes displayed true gratitude.

Oliver smiled at her and Fred muttered a "no problem".

Looking around the kitchen and then back at the boys, Angelina shrugged and said, nonchalantly, "Well, I'm going to take a shower and then—," she looked around again, "I don't know."

"Well, Ange, I think I'm going to stay a while and—look around to make sure that the letter didn't wind up somewhere else," Fred said, not convincing anyone. "You just go ahead, I'll see what I can find."

"How gallant of you Fred," she said with mock delicacy. "But I couldn't ask that of you."

"Oh no, my fair lady. I insist. It is what I must do. Surely you don't intend to stay here by yourself."

"Well, if you insist," she replied giving in.

She turned to Oliver next.

Not knowing what excuse he could use, he just shrugged and said, "I'll help."

She smiled and turned her back on both of them, making her way slowly to the door that led to the living room.

"Well boys," she said looking back and fluttering her lashes, " Don't work yourself too hard over a little lady like me. I'll be back soon."

She sashayed out of the kitchen and once through the door both men could hear her laughing out loud to herself.

Oliver took a second to get over her exit performance and looked up to see Fred giving him a funny look. It wasn't exactly a glare, but it wasn't friendly either.

"I got the rooms upstairs."

Oliver shrugged. "I'll look outside."

They split up and headed in their designated directions. They each realized that, like those many years ago, they were two men caught in a struggle for a heart so angelic, neither knew who would come out the victor. Oliver just hoped that it would be him this second time around.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Angelina relished in the feel of the spray of the water as it hit her body. She was exhausted. These past two days seemed to have gone on forever. She had spent most of the day in the hospital again today and was glad to hear that her father, though not out of danger, was now resuscitated and in a deep sleep. Her mother had decided to stay at the hospital with him, tending her broken leg and bruises. The day was an overall success. Angelina had even gotten to send the owl to her brother, who was on a research project in Algeria.

And she had gotten all of that done because of the support from her friends. Her guys.

_Her guys_. The guys she had known for so long and had loved for almost as long. Fred, who could always make her laugh. And Oliver, her trainer and mentor. Each were so different, yet she needed both of them.

But of course, she was still mad at Fred. She wasn't one to be tossed aside so easily and just accept it. Fred would have a lot of making up to do.

And he had promised to, she remembered. Their talk had been quick and, surprisingly, calm. Fred did most of the talking and assured her that he had made the biggest mistake of his life and that he had never really forgotten her.

"I'm sure he had when he was in bed with—with…" What _was_ the name he called her again?

Angelina didn't care and she turned off the faucet a little harder than she intended. The water stopped instantly and she stepped out of the tub into the thick, warm fog that filled the bathroom.

He had also promised, she remembered, to make up for every second that he hadn't been with her. She had been excited by that statement, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if she wanted to go back into the stress that usually came with the relationship.

"Humph. Maybe I'll go single for a while," she said to herself as she peered out into the hallway to be sure that no one was there.

Her towel-wrapped self waddled down the hall to her room and she disappeared behind the door.

Five minutes later, as she exited her room, she caught the sound of two people arguing. At first she started to roll her eyes at the fact that Oliver and Fred couldn't spend twenty minutes alone without fighting, but then she stopped. The two voices sounded very much alike. Almost _identical_. And without a second thought, she ran down the stairs to see two identical sets of red faces glaring at each other.

"George!"

The twins turned shocked faces to her. They didn't say anything at first, just stared, and she wondered if she had forgotten her pants or something. She looked down really quick and saw that nothing was out of order. Her muggle white shorts and blue top seemed ordinary enough.

"Angelina," a voice said seemingly from nowhere. She looked behind the twins to see Oliver standing by the couch.

"Dumbledore wants to speak to you."

Fred looked sharply at Oliver. He apparently didn't expect Oliver to speak up.

"Look Fred, we have to tell her."

Angelina looked at George again.

"Why does Dumbledore want me?"

Both brothers went to answer her question at the same time and all she got were jumbles of words. Something about an order and too risky.

Before she could get them to slow down, and maybe speak separately, Oliver came forward and looked right into her eyes.

"They know who sent the letter."

Angelina took a second to let that sink in before she gave her stern reply.

"Take me to him."

George moved forward and produced what looked like an old muggle remote control for a television. She knew of them because her uncle on her dad's side was a muggle and she had watched a lot of television at his house.

"This portkey will take you to headquarters," he said seriously.

There weren't many times when she saw both twins looking so serious. She allowed her stomach to do a quick quiver and a shadow of a doubt passed in her mind before she grabbed a hold of the remote.

The effect was almost instantaneous, but before she was whisked away in a whirl of color and sound, she looked up to see three pairs of eyes staring back at her with solemn gazes. At the last second Oliver stepped forward, hand outstretched, but his form disappeared in her world of color as she sped forward to the unknown destination.

- - - - - - -

Preview for **Chapter 6**:

The room was dark and the shadowy form in the corner refused to face her. Angelina was tired of these games. She didn't like this place and she felt very alone with neither Oliver nor Fred there with her.

"Who are you? Tell me why you sent me the warning!" She demanded at last.

The figure rose from where it had been crouched. Within a second it had turned around and a vibrant pair of emerald green eyes turned to face her.

- - - - - - - -

A/N: I put in a preview for ch. 6 because I felt that it was about time I revealed the identity of the writer of the anonymous letter. But I didn't want to include it in this chapter. Hopefully everyone can figure it out. Tell me what you think:)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: hi! I'm back, and I had loads of fun. We came in first in the national competition and so everyone's happy. A lot of stuff is happening now with prom and exams and graduation and things are getting hectic. I'll try to update often, but I cant promise a chapter every three days like it used to do. **Thanks** for all the reviews. I love you guys. A writers every wish. lol :-) Now enough blabbing, on to the story.

A/N2: Thanks a bunch and then some to my beta Charlie:)

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**- - - - CHAPTER 6 - - - -**

Angelina landed with an undignified yelp and fell over. The muggle remote fell to the floor next to her head, the noise echoing eerily. She struggled to her feet and lit her wand, casting a small orb of light around her. The rest of the room was in complete darkness.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself.

Her knees still ached where she had fallen hard on them, and she couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread. Dumbledore had wanted to talk to her. Well then, where was he?

She lifted her wand high above her head, listening hard for any sounds. The light caught a door at the far end of the empty room and she made her way towards it. As she got closer she could see that the room beyond the door was lit. Turning the knob, wand held high, she pushed the door open.

The room beyond was just as large as the last one but was more inviting. A fire blazed in the fireplace, various furniture was scattered around the room, and a table containing tea and biscuits lay in the middle of the room.

Angelina stepped wearily into the room and jumped as the door slammed shut behind her. She went to try to turn the knob again but it wouldn't turn.

"Ah. Hello, Ms. Johnson."

The voice had come from the other side of the room and Angelina jumped again. She turned around and met the blue eyes of her former headmaster. Angelina took a second to let her heart settle. She then took another second to get her first good look of the headmaster since she, Fred, and George had gotten in trouble their third year and been called to his office.

Angelina literally gasped at the changes that were there. Dumbledore seemed to have aged a couple decades. His skin hung loosely on his solemn face, his eyes looked sad, the blue depths having lost much of their sparkle, and even his beard seemed to be wilting.

His smile was as warm as usual, but the lines of worry at his brows seemed to be a new permanent feature.

"Sorry I wasn't here to receive you. I was called away to business at the last second," he replied gently. "I am hoping you are ok? I have heard word that your parents are better."

She snapped out of her daze.

"It was you who sent the letter then, sir?" she asked, hoping that, at last, she could grasp a hold of something familiar. She had not expected to feel so wrong footed at meeting the man that had overseen her learning process for seven years.

"Ah, no, Ms. Johnson. I did not send that warning letter," he replied with a slight sigh. He walked over to the armchair in front of the table and sat down heavily.

Angelina grew anxious with worry. It didn't help for her to see the headmaster making a slow and tired trip over to the armchair.

She sat across from him on a similar chair and took a cup of tea. She was nervous again with thinking about the anonymous letter. She started ladling spoons and spoons of sugar into her cup, just to have something to do.

Dumbledore smiled at her. "Anymore sugar, Ms. Johnson, and you'll turn into a crystal fire fairy," he said, the twinkle returning to his eyes. "At least that is what my Aunt Gertrude would tell me when I was a little boy. But I suppose I never did believe her, so you may be in no danger at all."

Angelina tried to think about the statement as she vanished her cup and conjured a new one with apple juice instead.

"Well, I'm just nervous," she admitted finally. "If you didn't send the letter, then who did?"

Dumbledore's eyes turned serious again. "You will soon find out, my dear."

He got up and vanished the tray with the tea and biscuits, including her cup of juice. He turned towards another door at a farther end of the room, presumably the one he had entered through. Angelina got up to follow.

He turned around to face her before opening the door.

"We are in a time of war, as you well know, Ms. Johnson. You are at the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. It is an order dedicated to fighting all who support the war. Many have been victim to the harshness of this war and not all have dealt well. Remember, it is through cooperation and support that we can truly benefit the causes."

At the end of the speech there was a quiet _pop_ sound and a single red and orange feather floated to land in Dumbledore's hands.

"Fawkes," he said with a grin. "I am needed to go away again. Please proceed to the end of the hall, Ms. Johnson. All your answers can be found there."

He opened the door for her and Angelina stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. She walked a few steps, but then turned back, hoping to ask the headmaster one last question. When she turned around, however, both headmaster and feather were gone. Fawkes was the Dumbledore's phoenix, she remembered at last. She turned back around and made her way towards the door at the very end of the hall.

By the time she had reached the all-important door, she was furious again. Dumbledore had told her absolutely nothing. Yes there was a war. Yes there needed to be cooperation. But how was she suddenly involved?

She angrily pushed open the door and was greeted with the sound of shuffling footsteps. Someone else was in the room, but she couldn't see them. She took out her wand and lit the tip. She was weary of stepping into the room and stood at the very edge of the doorway, peering inside. After a few moments of nothing from her companion, she gave a frustrated growl and stepped all the way inside. The door slammed shut behind her for the second time that night, but she didn't care.

The room was dark and the shadowy form in the corner refused to face her. Angelina was tired of these games. She didn't like this place and she felt very alone with neither Oliver nor Fred there with her.

"Who are you? Tell me why you sent me the warning!" She demanded at last.

The figure rose from where it had been crouched. Within a second it had turned around and a vibrant pair of emerald green eyes turned to face her.

Angelina bit back a gasp and narrowed her eyes at the gaunt and haunting face that looked towards her. Had she not known better, she would have thought she was standing face to face with an Azkaban fugitive.

"Harry!"

In an instant she had been disarmed and her wand was flying through the air towards his outstretched hands. Angelina could see no sign of a wand for himself.

They stood there, facing each other. It was almost like the muggle western movies when the two enemies were about to duel. But they weren't enemies. This was Harry, star player of the Grinffindor Quidditch team she had captained. An old time friend.

But yet there they stood.

Angelina's temper, never something she really sought to restrain anyway, blazed out of control.

Look at him. Standing there in overly large clothes, looking just as haggard and aged as Dumbledore had. He looked thinner, rougher, _meaner_, and Angelina was just a little too tired of all these surprises.

"What the bloody hell's the matter with you!"

She marched right over to him and took her wand back. Hitting him on the head with it she then crossed her arms and looked down into his angry face.

"_You_ sent me the letter then."

"Yeah I sent you the letter," he said with a snarl. He stepped around her and stalked over to the bed. With a flare of his hand he lit all the lamps in the room and his sleeping quarters was revealed at last. Angelina wasn't impressed.

"You got yourself learning wandless magic, too?"

He turned back to sneer at her.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, no you don't. I'm asking all the questions. Starting with, _why_ you sent me the letter." She went over to stand by his bed. He was laying back on the bed now, eyes closed and seemed to be ignoring her.

Angelina didn't know what his new issue was but she wasn't putting up with it. Using her wand she flipped him off the bed and stepped back, ready to face whatever temper he might have.

He got up slowly and looked at her.

He simply looked at her but she dropped her wand and took another step back. The lamps in the room flickered and gave the impression of lightening being struck. Her heartbeat became the thunder in her ears and the scene was intensified by the storm that raged around them.

"Do you know why I sent you that letter, Angelina Johnson?" His voice sounded hollow, and she wasn't sure, but she thought she could hear the rushing of wind.

He stepped closer and leaned towards her, his green eyes blazing.

"I _know_," he whispered.

All the lights went out completely and then came back on and remained steady. The rushing of wind stopped and the amplified beating of her heart faded away.

"I know," he said again, angrily. "I've been seeing it all summer. I've seen all of them. I know!" He said at last.

Angelina was still breathing hard from what she had just witnessed and she struggled to keep up. "You see what, Harry?"

"I see the attacks. I see _him_, Voldemort. And I see…I see Sirius."

He went quiet again.

Angelina thought hard. Sirius as in Sirius Black? The escaped convict? What connection does he have with Harry?

She looked back at the friend who had changed so much. She had been truly afraid of him for the first time in her life a few moments ago. His eyes had glared bright green and his anger had surrounded her—engulfed her. Now she looked back at his sunken shoulders, his hung head, the hair looking even more disheveled than it usually did.

_Many have been victim to the harshness of this war and not all have dealt well_.

Angelina went to step towards him, but her feet caught her wand. She picked it up and toyed with it for a second, biding her time.

"Who was Sirius?" she asked slowly.

For the first time since she'd entered the room, Harry's green eyes were devoid of anger and bitterness.

"He was my godfather. He died in the attack at the Department of Mysteries. He was innocent and now he's gone."

He said all this and then looked down again. The room was immediately filled with gloom and sorrow. It was as if the walls were magicked to display every emotion Harry was feeling. Angelina felt tears welling up as she thought of her own parents and how close to death they had been. The gloom and despair sat heavily on her heart and she collapsed on the floor as she cried again for everyone that had suffered because of one evil man's wrath.

Before she knew it, arms had wrapped around her and she rested her head on the shoulders of the boy that had aged so fast. The feeling of grief and anguish settled around them like dust.

They were like that for hours, having fallen asleep in each other's comfort. And, after awakening to the approaching dusk, another hour passed as the long, horrid story of Harry's summer came to be told. How he had returned to his relatives, broken and numb from his godfather's death. How he was mistreated as always. How the nightmares and visions had become a frequent disturbance.

He told her of the incident where he had followed a dream right to the edge of the neighborhood just to wake up and realize that they were still at war and his godfather was still dead. He had wanted to get out. He had needed to get away from everything. But in the end he had trekked back to his house with none but the moonlight to see his tears.

He told her of the vision he had about the attack and why he had written her. He couldn't have told Dumbledore. He was still upset with the headmaster who, he had told her, had been keeping him in the dark about things that could've saved his godfather's life.

"I killed him, Angie. I killed Sirius." Harry had said, to her surprise. He had fallen into Voldemort's trap and had taken the only parent figure he had ever known with him.

And ever since that vision there had been scores of other visions. He hadn't told anyone, not even his friends. It was Hermione's owl that he had used to send the anonymous letter. She had written him the night before and he hadn't responded then. He had written Angelina because he knew this attack would be a big one. He needed to warn someone. He was half asleep when he did it, to be honest. He had hoped something would be done.

It was Angelina's turn to feel guilty. She told him her story as well. And he said he didn't blame her for the attack. She couldn't have known how to stop it.

It wasn't their fault; it was the Death Eaters'. It was Voldemort's.

He told her about the order, figuring she had been exposed to it anyway and Dumbledore would probably tell her eventually. When he was done purging his mind, he leaned forward, resting his head against his hands.

She leaned back against the bed. She was acutely aware that her bum was starting to hurt from sitting on the hard floor so long, but she didn't care. There was a lot of information to take in and she sat there for a while pondering it all.

Just when the silence had stretched on, Harry gave a great sigh.

"I'm hungry. Mrs. Weasley might be back already. She said she'd be stopping by today."

He led her downstairs and Angelina took the time to finally check out the surroundings. She concluded that the house, though clean, held a feeling of desolation. She supposed it was the creepy paintings and the dark hallways. It was as if light was forbidden from the house.

They went through the living room and into the kitchen. Here, at last, was a cheery atmosphere. Mrs. Weasley was busy at the counter making something and humming softly to herself. She turned around with a plate full of sandwiches and gasped her surprise to see them.

"Well, hello, Harry, dear. And hello to you too, Angelina. I haven't seen you in so long." She put the plate down on the kitchen table and went to give them both hugs.

"I was just about to come up to see if you two had awoken yet. When I had stopped up earlier, you were both asleep on the floor." She gave a smile here but her eyes remained sharp.

Angelina could feel herself getting warm and Harry cleared his throat and looked away.

"Thank you, very much for the sandwiches, Mrs. Weasley," Angelina said, having nothing else to say.

"Oh you're welcome dear. I knew you'd be over here. Fred and George came back and said you've gone to see Dumbledore. And Oliver Wood's back too. You'll never believe it's him. He looks so different!"

Angelina had turned red again at the sound of Fred's name. How is it she has slept with two boys in two days and was still talking to a third? She surely wished Mrs. Weasley didn't find out.

Harry, though, had let out a yelp of excitement at hearing that Oliver was in town. Mrs. Weasley said she invited them all to spend the night at the Borrow. And though Harry was smiling for the first time since Angelina had discovered him in his room, her heart was slowly sinking to the pit of her stomach. It was going to be, at best, an interesting night.

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A/N: woo! Well there it is. Hope the wait wasn't too long. Ch. 7 is already in progress and will be up soon. 'Cause I know I kinda left off at a weird spot. Also, I _did_ bring you guys back a souvenir. You'll see it in the next chapter. We love Canada. :-) 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Yesss! I got this up in one day. I _just_ finish writing this at 2 AM this early Saturday morning. I really should look over it more, (or get a beta), but I think its good for now so here it is. I hope you all enjoy it!

A/N2: lol. Yes, _Angelface04_, I'm losing sight of the plot. grasps at air as the last tails of the plot escapes Well, I'll get it back eventually. I think this chapter was better in that area. Lol, oh well, forgive me. It is testimony to my inexperience with fanfics. I still love you guys though, _**thanks** to everyone for reviewing. :-)_

A/N3: Forever grateful to my beta, Charlie!

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**- - - - CHAPTER 7 - - - -**

Angelina was sitting on a second bed in what, Harry told her, was the room he and Ron shared whenever Ron came over. The room she had found him in before had been his late godfather's.

She looked over to Harry's bed to see him banishing a small pile of Chocolate Frog Cards—wandless, of course.

"What, did you lose your wand or something?" she asked, catching a card as it flew by her head. The rest of the banished cards lay in a corner on the other side of the room.

Harry looked over at her and shrugged. "No. I just like doing it."

Angelina stared disbelievingly at him. _Just liked doing it?_ Angelina knew wandless magic was not an easy technique to master. Most people had to be taught—and taught thoroughly.

He must have seen her disbelief because he sighed. With a wave of his hand he banished the rest of the cards to lay with their brothers across the room.

"I started learning when I got back to my Uncle's house for the summer. I had been having…" he paused, remembering, "…accidents. Whenever I got really mad or…or depressed, I'd do little magical things without meaning to."

He turned towards the pile of cards lying in the corner. With both hands outstretched, he started making single cards fly back across the room and onto the bed.

"I was afraid at first. I was tired of getting into trouble with the law."

Angelina raised her eyebrows at this, but didn't ask any questions.

"When nothing happened the first couple times, I called one of my neighbors and asked her why no one from the Ministry was flooing into my Uncle's home, expelling me or worse."

"You asked your neighbor?" Angelina cut it, surprised.

Harry looked at her, wondering what he might have said wrong.

"Oh. Yeah, my neighbor's a squib. She works for the Order. Anyway, she said that there were special wards around the house and that the Ministry was probably ignoring me." The last of the cards fell clumsily onto the bed and Harry wiped at his brow, obviously exhausted from the latest wandless magic.

"It's easier to banish things," he said staring at the cards. "So, yeah, I told Hermione about it and she sent me tons of books on controlling my magic and learning wandless magic and all that. I can't really do much." He concentrated hard and the cards came together to form a neater pile. "Mostly just basic stuff. But I like doing it. It makes me focus and keeps my mind off of the visions."

He looked up sharply at her. He hadn't meant to let that part slip.

Angelina didn't say anything.

"Have Hermione and Ron learned wandless magic too?" she asked eventually, toying with the card she still held in her hand.

"No. Hermione tried but it was really exhausting and she was leaving to visit the Canadian Rockies. She brought me back these Chocolate Frog collection cards from Niagara Falls. It was an early birthday present. But I don't think Ron knows about the wandless magic."

Angelina chucked her card over at the pile on the bed. It landed exactly on top of the pile of cards. Her chaser skills were still there, she thought proudly to herself.

Before any guilty thoughts of how she hadn't trained for Quidditch in days could surface, she got up and walked to a crooked painting on the wall. The frame was there, but the painting itself was empty.

"For a headquarters, this place is pretty quiet," she said as she straightened the painting.

"There're usually more people coming and going all day. But Dumbeldore's almost never in. I only saw him yesterday when Mrs. Weasley brought me here. I told him about the vision, Angelina."

She turned around to face him and saw that he was watching her.

"What'd he say?"

"Well he didn't say much…" He looked down and his face turned red. "I kind of got mad at him and ran up into Sirius's room. The next thing I knew, you were here."

"Hmm, well he didn't tell me anything either. He got called away to 'business'. Whatever that is."

She walked around the room, thinking, and then went back to sit on Ron's bed.

"How long do you think Mrs. Weasley's going to be?"

Another Order member had come to talk privately to Mrs. Weasley. When the meeting was over, they all would be going over to spend the night at The Burrow. Angelina was not looking forward to it, but she felt restless and anxious. She didn't want to stay in this dark, haunting house either.

"I think they just left," he said, getting off his bed and listening hard. A door could be heard as it was gently shut. A couple minutes later, there were footsteps on the stairs and Mrs. Weasley stuck her head into the room to tell them they would be leaving soon. It suddenly seemed too early to go over to The Burrow. But Angelina knew she was just being nervous. With a silent sigh, Angelina ignored her beating heart and got ready to spend the rest of the night at the Weasley house.

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_It was just as bad as I thought it would be._

Angelina was seated at the massive dinner table with the other six Weasley's, Harry, and Oliver. When she had arrived, she could already tell something was wrong. Both Oliver and Fred were avoiding her, and sending angry glances at each other. Harry had immediately gone over to talk to Oliver. And although he listened to Harry, Oliver seemed distracted and a little moody. Angelina had been left to herself, unsure how welcome she really was in the Weasley house again.

The oldest three Weasley children were missing, but Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George were present at home. Ron divided his attention between talking to Oliver about playing as Griffindor's new keeper, and talking to Angelina about her goal to play on the Chudley Cannons—his favorite Qudditch team. Ginny seemed to be a little cold towards her, and Fred and George were a lost hope. Arthur Weasley had been the only Weasley to send a warm greeting towards Angelina. She told him about her parents and then they talked for a while.

When dinnertime came, the issue of where to sit and by whom came into play. Angelina sat first and everyone filled in around her. She sat between Mr. Weasley and Ron. Oliver sat across from Ron and was separated from the twins by Ginny. Although Angelina sat on one side of the table facing the twins and Oliver, no words passed between them. Harry and Ron bombarded Oliver with questions about Quidditch. Ginny talked mostly to her parents about the past school year and the twins huddled together, talking amongst themselves. Angelina felt an underlying tension and couldn't really enjoy the company. Looking around the table, though, Angelina wondered if it was just her.

All too soon, after dessert and more awkward "talk time" for Angelina, they were all heading upstairs for bed. Angelina would be sleeping in Ginny's room and so she took her time. She didn't feel the girl liked her much to begin with, whether Angelina was going out with Fred or coaching the Griffindor team.

Angelina entered to find a pair of folded pajamas on a second bed and Ginny already changed and reading in her own bed. When Angelina went to the second bed, Ginny expressed how tired she was and swiftly put away the book, settled under the covers, and turned her back to her companion.

Angelina rolled her eyes. What _was_ with everyone? Feeling distinctly moody, she took the pajamas to the bathroom. A few minutes later she emerged from the bathroom and decided to take the long way back to the room. If she remembered correctly, this hallway would lead around past Ron's room and back to Ginny's. She started down the hallway but after walking a while, realized the hallway she was thinking of was one floor down. She kept walking, though, because she was sure she would eventually end up in the right place.

As she passed a room she heard a rustling. She retraced her steps as the rustling turned to banging. She pushed open the slightly ajar door and found a room full of muggle exercise equipment. At first she didn't see anyone and the banging continued. Eventually, movement from the farthest corner of the room caught her eye. And then the banging stopped.

Oliver Wood stood on the other side of the room, shirt off and body sweating. His chest puffed in and out as he tried to catch his breath and Angelina willed her eyes to stay on his face. He had stopped working out when he realized she had entered. A metal workout equipment was held loosely in his hands.

"I didn't know the Weasley's had a whole training room upstairs," she said, picking up a particularly heavy piece of iron.

He gave her a hard glare and with a wave of his wand, all the equipment was packed away into two pocket-sized boxes.

"Portable Training Room. Dead useful," he replied. He made to go pass her and leave the room but she grabbed his arm.

"Oliver, what's with you? And Fred, and George, and everyone."

She admitted, to herself, that it was definitely harder to talk to Oliver with his shirt off.

He looked down at the hand that still grasped his arm. Angelina let go immediately and put her hands on her hips.

"I dunno what you're talking about," he mumbled, looking around the room. He spotted his shirt and pulled it on.

Angelina felt a small pang of disappointment, which she ignored.

"Don't know do you? You've hardly said anything to me all night. And I think Fred and George are mad at me too. What happened after I left? Did you get into a fight?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sort of."

"What do you mean, _sort of_? Hey, I'm talking to you!" she snapped as he made to go pass her again.

Frustrated, she placed both hands on his shoulders and pushed with all her might. Having not expected the blow, Oliver teetered dangerously, destined to take her down with him. They struggled for a second, both trying to stay upright. Angelina grabbed a hold of his shirt, which ripped, and Oliver looped an arm around her waist. In the end they managed to keep their balance, but it wasn't exactly what they had aimed for. Angelina's head rested against the course hairs of his chest and she felt that she was pressed way too close for comfort.

A couple seconds went by and Angelina wondered why he hadn't loosened his grip. Then suddenly, he removed his hand and Angelina was holding on of her own accord. When she realized what she was doing, she stepped back and gave him one of her sternest glares.

"What's wrong with you and Fred."

Surprisingly, instead of wilting at her tone, he began to smile. Angelina narrowed her eyes; she didn't trust that smile.

"Oh nothing is wrong with me and Fred. He's just angry because he found out you spent the night at my house last night."

"You told him WHAT?" Before she knew it, her hand was coming up and she slapped Oliver Wood right across the cheek. She would've done it again except he grabbed her hand on the second swing.

"Let me go! What the bloody hell's wrong with you. You know damn well I didn't sleep with you last night." She tugged at her hand, but he held on tight.

"Funny how you're so upset over what Fred may think when you saw with your own eyes, yesterday, that he was shagging some other girl—"

"I don't care what _he_ thinks, Oliver. I'm mad at how much of a git you are!" she screamed, cursing him with her eyes alone.

The nerve of him, she thought. Saying what he did as if he had claimed some prize. She was not a trophy to be won by him _or_ Fred. And she didn't need him to remind her of what Fred had done. She was still hurt by it.

She was so angry she went to slap him with her other hand. Effortlessly, he caught the hand in mid swing and she felt she was completely trapped.

"Listen, Angie, I didn't mean it like that."

She snorted at him and rolled her eyes.

"I didn't! _He_ made all the assumptions himself."

"And you're saying you didn't do or say anything to make Fred form these assumptions?"

"No."

"Bullshit," she spat.

"Alright that's it, Angie. You're gonna have to—"

"No, _you_, listen Mr. Oliver Wood, —"

"—stop accusing me of—"

"—you're a worthless excuse for—"

"—being a bastard or I'll just—"

"—Dammit, LET ME—"

"GO!"

The word echoed around the room. They stared at each other, breathing hard and eyes glaring angrily. Oliver let go of her hands and she clutched them to her chest, rubbing at a spot where his fingers had grasped too hard.

His eyes followed her hands and his anger began to fade away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, coming closer to examine her hand.

She pulled it back from his view. He was uncomfortably close again and Angelina looked down, choosing to stare at his naked chest instead.

"You didn't hurt me," she lied.

"Yes I did. Dammit, Angie, let me see." He grabbed her hands again, but this time he was gentle. He turned over her hands to examine the tender area at her wrist. The delicate flesh was starting to bruise and Angelina heard him groan softly.

"Oh, Angie, I'm sorry."

He raised one of her hands to his lips, and then the other, placing a small kiss on each.

Angelina watched, mesmerized. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears and the flesh at her wrist began to tingle. She was barely aware as he let go of her hands and clutched her face instead. Turning her head up, she watched through lowered lashes as he bent down to bring his lips to hers.

Their kiss was delicate—a whisper of a caress. Angelina felt the tension leave her body and she sighed against his lips. She leaned in a little, shifting her body to conform to his. She heard his soft groan. And just like that the kiss began to change. Like the rekindling of embers, desire flared up within them. Their kisses became tortured, each desperate to experience all that they could get. Oliver placed his hands on her waist, pulling her ever closer. Angelina wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoes. Raising her arms had lifted her shirt and one of Oliver's hands sneaked under the hem to caress the soft skin underneath. Delicious tingles raced across her skin and Angelina moaned into his mouth. But as his fingers crept higher, a frantic thought entered Angelina's head.

They were in her ex-boyfriend's parents' house.

She pulled back forcefully, tugging at the hem of her shirt. She felt ashamed that she had let it go so far. And yet, she was aching to go back into his arms and forget about everything.

They stood there catching their breaths. Angelina wrapped her arm around herself, not trusting them to behave and stay by her side. Oliver crossed his arms, presumably for the same reason.

They stared at each other.

"I don't know—"

"I didn't mean—"

They stopped and stared at each other some more.

"I'm going to bed," Angelina said at last.

"Yeah, goodnight," Oliver said to her retreating back.

She exited the room and followed the hallway back to Ginny's room. Ginny hadn't moved an inch and Angelina crept passed to the second bed. She wiggled between the covers and closed her eyes.

Then she opened them and looked around.

"Damn, it wasn't a dream."

Angelina squeezed her eyes shut again with a groan. She willed herself to go to sleep and not think about the next day, but tomorrow loomed before her as immovable and enticing as Oliver had. Oh, tomorrow would be interesting, indeed.

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A/N: Woo! So, a little more action in this chapter. What did everyone think? Please **review**. 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Woo! Just had prom. It was great. So I've been a little busy this week. But in between stuff, I've been writing! Chapter 8's a bit longer than usual so, I hope everyone enjoys:-).

A/N2: To Charlie, beta extraordinaire, Thank you.

_Thanks to all my reviewers._

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**- - - - CHAPTER 8 - - - -**

Tomorrow was an interesting day, indeed. What made it so interesting was the disappearing act Oliver Wood pulled. Before Angelina had even risen, Oliver had said his goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and headed back to his flat in Puddlemere. He had said he'd be back in London again as soon as his family returned from vacation.

Although Ron and Harry expressed feelings of disappointment to see him leave, Angelina was secretly relieved. It wasn't as if she could go on talking to him and pretend nothing happened (which had been her plan had he _not _left). With him gone, she could go back to focusing on her life. He had been a pleasant distraction, but she couldn't spend much time dwelling on him. Plus, she was still mad at him for what he had implied about that night at his house. And for tricking her into kissing him (she blamed him whole heartedly). Yes, it was best to forget about, one, Oliver Wood.

Well that attitude carried Angelina straight through for two weeks. Her brother had come back home and both him and Angelina visited their parents regularly. Angelina had started training again, much harder than ever, and had even bought a portable training room—only because she lived so far away from a real center, of course. But it was at the end of those two weeks that her resolve began to crumble.

Angelina walked towards room 301 with her brother, Eric, lagging behind. In her hand she held a letter she had refused to open. Eric had tried to open it for her earlier, but she didn't want him to open it. She had a mission to see one person. She stepped into the brilliantly lit hospital room and marched right over to Marianne Everson-Johnson.

"Its from the Cannons."

Marianne gave her daughter one calculated look and then took the letter that was held out to her. She unsealed the letter and held it close to her face, squinting at the words and revealing no emotion. She looked up to see her two children waiting expectantly to hear the news, as they used to do when they were young and she would read them answered letters from Father Christmas.

She rolled up the scroll, which actually contained several letters. With brown eyes almost identical to Angelina's, she winked and gave a small nod.

"You made the final cut. You have Final tryouts on August 13th."

Angelina let out a squeal and ran to hug her mother. She then went to the bed next to her mothers and gently hugged her smiling father. Finally she went over to jump on her brother, the first person to place a broom in her hand and tell her she'd be a star.

"Ew, my little sister is going professional on us," he said to their parents over her head. "And I always thought she was too geeky to become a celebrity."

Angelina punched his arm. "That's what you _thought_."

Granted she wasn't technically on the reserve team yet. But making final cut was a big deal. She had been dreading the results of her preliminary tryouts for weeks. The tryouts had been right after leaving Hogwarts and Angelina had wished for more time. And now that she was training harder than ever, she felt she could do finals right now. She could conquer the world!

"Let me see what else it says," she asked excitedly, taking back the papers.

Her eyes scanned the Chudley Cannon's logo at the top of the letter and she smiled to herself. No team logo ever looked more beautiful.

_Dear Ms. Angelina Johnson,_

_We are pleased to inform you that your preliminary results have been processed. Upon special review of your practical score, coupled with the submitted application and credentials, we are excited to extend an invitation to come back for _**Final****Tryouts**_ on Friday, the _**13th of August**_. Specific instructions about tryouts are included in this packet, along with a detailed evaluation of your practical performance at the Preliminary Tryouts. _

_We hope that this news finds you well, and willing to except the challenges that the Chudley Cannons Professional Quidditch Team ensures. It is possible, of course, to forgo this opportunity _(bloody unlikely, Angelina thought with a smile)_. If you wish to decline, please return the enclosed letter of refusal with all training material and the free t-shirt we sent out._

_Wishing you the best of luck,_

_Ragmar Dorkins_

_Manager and Head Trainer_

Angelina flipped through the other pages. Yes! It was all right there. It seemed like her summer was finally looking up. So engrossed was she, it took her a second to realize that the conversation had moved on passed her and on to none other than Oliver Wood.

"Yes and he came to see us. Plays on Puddlemere now."

"So I hear. Never did get to play with him on the Griffindor team back in my day. He made the team the year I left."

Angelina hid behind the papers a little longer, pretending to be deaf to the conversation.

"He isn't still in London is he, Angie? Maybe he can stop by for dinner. He was so nice to come and see us."

Her brother pulled back the papers to reveal Angelina's flustered face. Angelina cleared her expression immediately.

"Wait, didn't you two…you know, have a thing going or something back in school?" He gave her a knowing smile and Angelina, in her best actress performance, rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"He wishes."

"Oh, I don't know, Ange, I remember several owls about that. I think I might've brought them too. It's packed in my trunk of course, but it shouldn't be too hard to dig up—"

She jumped on him, cutting off his words effectively. She supposed it wasn't good to be wrestling your brother in a hospital room as your parents tried a halfhearted attempt to stop it.

"Really now, Eric, Angie. You'd think you two were five years old."

"Even if I were five, I could still beat this guy," Angelina breathed out, her arms wrapped around her brother's head in a headlock. Angelina suspected that he was letting her win, but she didn't mind. She had missed him dearly, and plus, this was a long time coming.

Eventually, the romping died down and all too soon they were wishing their father goodbye. He was feeling extremely tired that day, and though he smiled and laughed along with his daughter, the strain was starting to show. Marianne was going home, as well, after spending two extra weeks in the hospital. She was well on her way to full recovery but had wanted to stay at the hospital with her husband. The mediwitches had been on the verge of kicking her out before she had decided that she wanted to spend time with her oldest child before he left her again.

That evening Angelina enjoyed one of her favorite meals with her brother and mother in celebration of the letter. After everyone had eaten and said their goodnights, Angelina made her way up to her room, a bowl of double mint chocolate ice cream in her hands and a smile on her face. She knew she'd have to work off all those extra calories, but she felt she deserved some sweets.

She was still so excited that she couldn't sleep. She sat at her desk and took out a piece of parchment and a sugar quill. Sucking on the end of it, she wondered whom to write to first. Fred's freckled face swam in front of her eyes and she cringed guiltily. What had happened to them? After that faithful night almost two weeks ago, she had pulled her own disappearing act and left without saying goodbye to the twins.

_Well they were still mad at you, especially Fred._

True. That is why she hadn't wanted to face them in the morning.

_And, of course, the fact that you were slobbering all over Oliver the night before._

Angelina ignored that part.

So she hadn't said goodbye to Fred that last time she was at the Weasley house. What had stopped her from seeing him after that?

She put down the quill and leaned down on her hands.

It was time to face the facts. She just didn't feel the same for him as she used to.

_Aw, that's not fair. You can't honestly make that decision when your mind is on Oliver Wood all the time._

"It is not!" she whispered out loud.

She had barely thought of the Qudditch player who had wandered back into her life for those couple of days and had left just as easily.

_Oh you haven't, you say? Well I beg to differ. After all, I'm up here dealing with thoughts of him all day._

"I'm not arguing with you anymore," she said to herself, quickly silencing that part of her conscience.

All too soon, another side popped up.

_Well, speaking of Oliver,_ it teased, _why not send him an owl? He'll be more than happy to help you train for Finals._

Angelina wondered if she really wanted to go back to that situation. What if he didn't want to hear from her, anyway?

In the end, she wrote a letter to Harry Potter telling him of the Cannons letter, and then ate her ice cream as she watched the stars. A few stars sparkled brightly against the night sky and without knowing, her heart chose a star and made a wish while her mind chose another and made its own wish. Each wish was pure and hopeful and the heavens were at a loss for what to do.

- - - - - - -

"Oh Oliver, thank you so, so much. And you're sure you're ok with Angie for the night?"

Oliver nodded. Although his mind had reeled when he heard 'Angie', his face remained composed.

"Of course he will. Stop worrying Marce. Our Angela can probably take care of herself."

Anderson winked at Oliver as he bent down to kiss his baby girl. Marcy hovered by the door, obviously unwilling to part with her first and only child.

"Oh go on guys. You deserve a break. Me and Ange will stay up all night telling stories and…doing each other's hair." He looked down at the gurgling baby and gently patted the fuzz of red hair that covered most of her head.

Marcy laughed at him and went over to kiss her baby again.

"Well everything is in her baby trunk and you owl us if anything, _anything_ is wrong. We'll come right back home."

"Yes, yes, we will, honey." Anderson rolled his eyes and led his reluctant wife out the door. "Thanks again for coming on such short notice, Oliver. We'll be back tomorrow."

And with that he exited the nursery and a double crack was heard as they disapperated.

Oliver looked around the room with its pretty pinks and fluffy pillows.

"Well it's just you and me, Angie."

He looked down into the cradle to see Angela give one big yawn and blink her pretty four-month-old eyes.

"Oh no. You can't go to sleep already! You have to do my hair."

He had just picked up the baby, thinking he could charm her into staying awake, when an owl flew through the window. He went to take off the scroll but Angela grabbed a handful of his hair.

"Oh, _now_, you want to do hair."

He put her back in the cradle and then went to take the scroll from the owl's leg. The owl looked familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Unfolding the scroll, Oliver looked down to see who had signed it. He muttered a sound of surprise.

Angelina was writing him.

He hurriedly read through the letter. Letting out a whoop, he went to get a quill to respond. Before he knew it, he had scribbled.

_Angie,_

_Congrats! I always knew you'd make it. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. I'm babysitting at a friend's house. Come over, we can celebrate and I can tell you everything you need to know about finals. The address is on the front of the scroll._

_Oliver_

And then the Owl was flying out the window again.

Oliver was just a little slow on thinking all of it over. What had he just done? He hadn't even spoken to her since…since that night at the Weasley house. And that was weeks ago. He hadn't even said goodbye.

_Coward._

He frowned down at the now sleeping baby. He _was_ a coward. She probably wouldn't even come.

----

"Oh Angie, you know you're the only girl for meeee."

Angela let out a squeal and tried to grab at his fingers. Oliver continued singing.

"It's your love that can finally set me freeee." He twirled once, for effect, and then went back to tickling Angela's stomach. She gurgled along to the music in his head.

"Oh Angie, it's what you dooooo." He didn't even hear the door opening as Angelina stepped into the room.

"Oh Angie, you've got me and, baby, I've got—whoa!" He stopped instantly when he heard clapping at his back.

He swiveled around to see Angelina staring at him. She raised an eyebrow, and the corner of her mouth twisted up into a smile.

"I was knocking forever. Someone had left the door open by the way. And after that, I just had to follow the soothing tones of your voice."

Oliver felt his face heating up. Damn that girl. Sure it was an embarrassing situation, but had she come—oh—2 hours earlier when he'd written the letter, maybe he wouldn't be doing silly dancing and singing off key at the top of his lungs.

"I was singing to my girl, Angie, over here." He looked down to see Angela biting on her fingers. She had apparently forgotten about him as her focus was now locked on the new visitor.

"Awww," Angelina cooed. "Her name is Angelina too?"

She walked over to the crib and immediately Angela grabbed her extended fingers. Oliver frowned. Angela had moved on so fast, even after he had poured out his heart and soul to her in song. Women were all alike.

"It's Angela, actually."

He went to go get a sheet to wrap Angela in.

"That's what I said." Angelina took the sheet from Oliver and wrapped the baby in it. "She's _so_ cute," Angelina cooed, as she held baby Angela in her arms.

"Yeah. _Real_ cute."

Angelina turned to look at him, and laughing, said, "You're not getting jealous of her, are you? Just because she's ten times cuter than you ever could be. Right, Angie?"

Baby Angela gurgled and smiled up at Angelina in agreement.

Oliver crossed his arms with a sigh. Angelina always won everyone over.

She turned to look into his eyes again.

"I was only joking," she said smiling.

Oliver followed her lips as it curved up into her smile. _Lips he had kissed just a couple weeks ago._

Oliver gave himself a mental shake. Feeling the need to think about something else, he started walking over to the door.

"Come on, I think she might be hungry. I was trying to put her back to sleep when you came and heard me—uh, singing."

"He _thinks_ your hungry?" she said to the baby in her arms. "And they trusted you with him for the whole night?"

Oliver laughed as he heard baby Angela give another gurgle in agreement. "Well you should've seen us earlier. She was having the time of her life doing my hair."

"I can only imagine," Angelina replied, giving him a look he couldn't interpret.

Things were getting too comfortable again, he thought. His mind reeled as he tried to think of something less intimate. _Duh!_

"So, Angie, you're going to be a Cannon, eh?"

They had reached the kitchen and Angelina let out a whoop of excitement. Baby Angela started to laugh again.

"Well, as of yesterday," she said, sitting on a stool by the counter. "But you know I'm not officially on the team yet."

"Well, yeah, but you made it to Finals. They cut all the people they don't want in prelims. Trust me. You'll be playing chaser in no time."

She smiled up at him and he felt himself being pulled into her smile. Now if only he could stop thinking about her lips.

He set to work on making a bottle, and several minutes passed in silence. When he turned around to give Angelina the bottle, he found baby Angela fast asleep in her arms. Angelina sat looking down at the baby, rocking back and forth.

Oliver just stood there, smiling and happy to be a part of the peaceful scene. Suddenly, though, Angelina turned brown eyes up to him.

"Why'd you leave without saying goodbye, Oliver?"

Her words had been whispered but it almost made Oliver jump. Why hadn't he said goodbye? _Why?_

He looked down at her. Her dark brown hair was set in curls today and fell around her face to form a halo. Her eyes, surrounded by thick lashes, were deep and probing and it reminded him of honey. And her lips, though turned down in a frown, still drew his attention the most.

That's why he had left that morning. She was temptation beyond his control. A divine and heavenly creature that made him want to commit nothing but the most earthly of sins.

She sat patiently waiting as Oliver battled with himself. He honestly didn't know what to say to her. That the kiss had affected him more than he ever thought it would? That had he known how sweet she tasted, he would've fought every inch of Fred for her those many years ago? But he didn't think that she'd care for those excuses. And at that moment, he counted Fred the luckiest man on earth.

"I don't know, Ange. I was afraid of seeing you in the morning," he whispered back, his voice a little husky. He took a deep breath. Honesty was the best way. "Because I wanted to kiss you again."

Her eyes grew round and her mouth opened slightly. Each second seemed multiplied by a thousand and just as he took a step forward, there was a loud bang.

They both jumped and baby Angela woke with a start. She started crying immediately and Angelina tried to rock her back to sleep. Oliver looked around for what had made the noise. Suddenly a dark shape came crashing into the kitchen window again. He ran over to it and opened the window just as a small, petite owl zoomed into the room. It zoomed excitedly around the room for a full ten seconds before Oliver could grab a hold of it. On its foot was a tightly wrapped scroll in a bright red color. Oliver recognized it right away.

The howler detached from the jittery bird and floated to hang in front of Angelina.

Ron's voice rang out clearly.

"CONGRATS, ANGIE! YOU'RE WICKED! BRING ME BACK A CANNON'S T-SHIRT AND SOME TICKETS. I'LL BE YOUR FOREVER SLAVE!"

The baby howled ever louder and Angelina looked to Oliver for help. Ron's voice echoed for a second before it was gone completely and the red envelope burst into a stream of confetti. Oliver took the baby from Angelina and tried to put the bottle in her mouth. She wouldn't stop crying though.

Angelina covered hears and began to talk, but Oliver couldn't hear over the crying.

"I said, HOW DID RON GET A HOWLER AT THIS HOUR?" she yelled.

" I DUNNO," was all Oliver could manage as he tried bouncing the screaming baby.

Angelina looked down, and though she wasn't yelling, he thought he could see her lips form, "the twins".

She gave the left over confetti an evil look and with a wave of her wand, cleaned up the mess. She took the bottle from Oliver, and testing it, felt that it was cold. She heated it slightly and took the baby from him. She started cooing again, softer this time, and the baby eventually took the bottle she offered.

Oliver stood back amazed. Was this some female talent that came as natural to them as his gray eyes were personalized for him? She even held the baby differently, he noted with awe.

Oliver sat on the stool she had once occupied and watched Angelina as she made peace for the tormented baby. He was more than happy to just watch.

Tired from all the crying and excitement, baby Angela eventually slipped off to sleep. Angelina continued rocking her for a while, but after stopping to stretch her neck, Oliver suggested they put the baby into its crib.

He took the baby from her and went back upstairs to the nursery. As he lay baby Angela down for the night, he realized how fitting her name was. She looked completely innocent and holy as she lay against her soft pink pillow. His mind switched to another angel who was waiting downstairs. She had saved him once tonight by putting the little one to sleep. But as for bigger problems, such as falling in love with her, he feared he was beyond the power of her good graces.

- - - - - - - - - -

* * *

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed it! Please **review**. 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: OK. Its official. I have no patience. I've had this chapter written since Saturday and I can't help myself. I must post it.

This chapter may contain content not suitable for children. Well, it's not extremely bad, but just incase, I'm putting in this warning for this chapter. Well, here it is. Tell me what you think. I want some ideas for Ch. 10.

_Thanks to all my reviewers:-)_

_And thanks to my beta, Charlie_. :-)

- - -

* * *

- - - - **CHAPTER 9** - - - -

Angelina sat on the couch playing with a teething toy that giggled every time you squeezed him. She wasn't really paying attention to it though. Now that the baby had been put to bed, she couldn't help but go back to what happened right before she had received that howler. Oliver had said he wanted to kiss her again.

She had thought she was the only one who had been shaken up by the kiss. The days following the kiss, she had been plagued with dreams she fought herself to forget in the morning. And she had debated with herself a thousand times whether or not to write to him earlier, and then whether or not to accept his invite over to the house.

And then there was seeing him again. After two years of absence and then have him explode back into her life, touching her and comforting her and ultimately kissing her, it had felt like a drought in those two weeks. Except she hadn't known until she had come to see him tonight and her eyes got to drink their fill of him.

She couldn't deny the attraction she felt for him. And if she would really allow herself to ponder it, she'd probably realize she was falling in love with him. Again. She was falling in love with him a second time. But this time it wasn't the admiring, awe-filled love of a 5th year for her team captain and friend. She was falling for Oliver Wood, the man he had become. And the raging desire for him was also a bit different from the innocent crush of before.

She made up her mind right then and there. And when Angelina set her mind to something, she usually achieved it.

Angelina looked up and saw that Oliver had descended the stairs and stood only a few feet from the couch. Angelina stopped squeezing the toy and the giggling stopped. The silence was uncomfortable.

"She's sleeping like an angel," he said in a whisper.

Angelina knew their voices wouldn't carry to the nursery upstairs, but she whispered back. "That's because she is one."

"So are you."

She smiled up at him. She stood up and went towards him.

"Come out on the balcony with me," she said softly, grabbing his hand. "I've never seen a prettier view of the sea."

The Anderson house was set on a hill with one side facing a sea. Angelina always loved the water. Her favorite place at home was the lake in her backyard.

They stepped out onto the wooden floor of the balcony and shut the door behind them. Oliver muttered a spell and immediately a mirror was placed on the far wall showing the nursery.

"Incase she wakes up," he said.

Angelina smiled at his thoughtfulness. She turned towards the sea and leaned onto the railings of the balcony, the only thing keeping her from the beautiful smooth water.

She felt him come up behind her and waited for him put his arms around her. Instead he went beside her and leaned on the balcony as well. He was still delightfully close and Angelina gave into the urge to lean onto him.

He put an arm around her shoulder and pointed. "Can you see the birds down by the water's edge over there? Anderson has been watching them for years. That's four generations since they first came here."

Angelina watched as they elegantly swam across the moon's reflection in the sea.

"It's beautiful. I would love to live here." She looked up into his eyes, which were more black than gray in the nighttime.

"The house is beautiful," he said, but his eyes seemed to say more. _You are even more beautiful._

Angelina knew her moment had come. Leaning up she gently kissed his jaw. The little hairs there prickled her lips but he felt warm out in the night chill.

He stiffened at her kiss and Angelina secretly smiled at her affect on him. Placing her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him closer to her as she placed little kisses up along his jaw and back down to his chin.

He let out a breath he must have been holding.

"Angelina, are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered huskily in her ear.

She pulled back and immediately his hands went around her waist, holding her close to him.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked, tracing the lines of his lips with the pad of her thumb.

He gave a nervous laugh and took her hand away from his lips. "Oh Merlin, no."

She smiled up at him as he bent his head. He placed small kisses on her cheek that trailed down to her neck. Delicious shivers raced across her spine and she raised her head to give him better access.

When their lips finally touched, it was in a haze of passion. Tongues and teeth crossed as Angelina kissed him with all the desire building within her. Oliver turned them around so that Angelina's back was leaning against the railing and slipped his hands between the folds of her robes. His hands met skin and she gasped as they slid over her stomach. Her hands, which were resting on his shoulders, went up to mesh with the thick strands of his hair. She pulled his head down for an even deeper kiss.

Everything was happening so fast and Angelina loved it. She could faintly hear the water rushing behind her and Oliver Wood, and all that he was, surrounded her like a well-loved blanket.

His hands went to the neck of her robes and he began to slip the sides off of her shoulder. She hadn't noticed him unzipping her robe. He pushed the robe down to her waist where it hung loosely on her hips. She felt the chill of the night nip at her exposed skin and she shivered.

His head bent down to the dip in her bra as his hands went around her back to the clasps. Angelina could hear her heart beating in her ear and she gasped as her bra was unhooked and slipped away to reveal her chest to his hungry eyes.

She moaned his name as his hands came up to cup her, and was surprised when he suddenly pulled back.

She looked up at him to see his brow furrowed. "We can't do this here."

Angelina stood in a daze of confusion as he clumsily tried to reattach her bra and robes. Angelina grabbed his fingers; they were distracting her.

"Can't do what?" she asked.

Oliver cleared his throat repeatedly. He seemed to have trouble look past her neckline. He pulled his fingers out of her hands and managed to secure her robes back on her shoulders, if not her bra.

"We can't do _this_ right now, Angie." He said in a harsh whisper.

He must have seen the hurt in eyes because he took her face in his hands and kissed her again, gentler this time.

"Don't get me wrong. I would love to… do _this_ right now. But not here." He looked over at the mirror that showed that baby Angela was still fast asleep. "Not now. The Andersons will be back tomorrow."

She let out a soft "oh" and looked down at his chest. She felt tears of mortification welling up. It wasn't everyday she tried to seduce a man into sleeping with her. And fail horribly.

"Well, this was fun," she said in disappointment.

"No, wait, Angie. Come to my flat over in Puddlemere tomorrow night." He tilted her head up to look into her eyes, "There won't be any interruptions."

Angelina nodded and gave a small smile. She believed him. Her seduction idea had not been a complete failure. He still wanted her, she could see it in his eyes and she could still feel his heart beating fast against her hands.

He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "You're beautiful when you smile."

Unable to speak, she kissed him once again and then disapperated, leaving the sea and her love behind on the balcony.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Oliver went around his room vanishing things. He had been meaning to clean it for a while now. He never thought he'd have so much to do. He took down most of the posters—too many people watching—and left one of him in his first wild save. Although the room at his flat was not as small as the one at his parent's house, Oliver felt cramped. He placed an enlargement charm on it. He conjured a small table and magically set it for two with candles in the middle. Candles! He set scented candles around the room and magicked a fake fireplace to add a cozy setting.

He stepped back and looked at it all. His bed looked small too, he thought lewdly. Before he could act upon that thought, a knock was heard at the door. He checked the time. She was really early. The thought that Angelina would come early so that they could spends _lots_ of time together made Oliver almost run to answer the door.

And so Mr. and Mrs. Wood, along with their son Corey, met a slightly flustered and disappointed looking Oliver Wood.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Oh, don't look so happy to see us, Oliver," his mother said reaching out to hug him and kiss his cheek.

"Oliver!" Seven-year-old Cory ran and jumped onto Oliver's waist.

"Whoa. Hey there."

His mother and father pushed passed the pair and went into the living room. Oh this couldn't be happening, he thought as he shuffled after them.

"Oliver, guess what? We went to the Bermuda triangle and we got lost!" Corey held on tight as Oliver closed the outside door behind them.

"Really, Corey? Where'd you end up?" he breathed, plying his brother off of him.

"We went to nira…niva…"

"Niagara Falls. In Canada!" Mrs. Wood finished for him. "Oh it was wonderful, Oliver."

"It was." His father chipped in. "If you had come by a little earlier you could've gone with us."

Mr. Wood walked around the living room, looking at the furniture. His company made furniture.

"Nice, nice. Real Birch. Very nice."

Oliver left the three of them and went to the kitchen. He wondered if it was too late to cancel on Angelina. But dammit, he didn't want to cancel. He just needed to get these people out before she came over.

He went back into the living room with glasses of pumpkin juice.

"So, how's your roommate?" his mother asked, taking a glass.

"Oh, he's fine. Listen, Mom—"

"Didn't he have a baby?" his father interrupted.

"Well his wife did. Didn't she, Oliver?" his mother asked.

"Hey Oliver. Oliver! Can I see your new broom? Can I see?" his brother piped in loudly.

"Yeah, yeah. It's in my room. And yeah, Anderson had a baby girl, Angela.

"Angela. How pretty. Right Arnold? I always said if I had a girl, I'd give her an "A" name. Right Arnold?"

"Right, right. But we had two great boys anyway." His father said, settling in deeper on the couch and picking up an old magazine that was on the table.

Oliver started to panic. If he didn't get rid of them soon, they'd stay the whole night.

"Listen, Mom, Dad, I have—"

"I didn't find it Oliver." Cory came back into the living room with an unlit candle in his hand. "Why's you're room so dark anyway? And why are there so many candles."

Oliver snatched the candle from his hands.

"I forgot, Core, its in the broom cupboard."

"You put it in the broom cupboard?" Corey asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I was cleaning. Look, everyone, I'm expecting—"

The doorbell rang. He knew who it was this time. Damn. He heard Corey ask, "Which closet is it?" as he went towards the door but Oliver didn't bother to answer him.

He opened the door to see Angelina standing in a very flattering pink robe and her hair done up in a ponytail. He closed the door behind him and pushed his way out into the narrow hallway. He bent and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Hi lovely. My parents are here."

Angelina had been smiling when she saw him, but then her eyes opened wide.

"I must've gotten your message mixed up, 'cause I thought we were going to—"

He placed his finger over her lips. "Shh. We are," he said with a grin.

"Well, good. I didn't wear this for no reason." She said winking.

"Pink looks good on you."

"I meant, the stuff underneath," she said with a seductive smile.

Oliver let out a whistle. "Well then, lets just go someplace else. Your place?"

Angelina laughed at him. "No way. My mom and brother's still home."

"On second thought…never mind."

"It's ok, Oliver. I should go say hi to your parents anyway. I haven't seen them in years," she said as she went passed him and opened the door to the flat.

Oliver tried to stop her but it was too late. She had entered the room and he heard his mother's cry of welcome. He'd be lucky if he got to do anything of what he had planned tonight.

- - - - -

Surprisingly the Woods did not stay as long as Oliver had thought they would. Within the next hour he was waving goodbye and his little brother was dragging along his Nimbus XE.

"Every time I see that kid, he gets one of my brooms," he said in exasperation, but even Angelina could tell he wasn't serious.

Oliver closed the door to the flat and turned around. He took a deep breath and leaned back against the door.

"Finally! I've been trying to get rid of them forever."

"I like you're parents," Angelina said as she looked up at him from where she was seated on the couch.

"I do too. Especially when they're far away."

He stood straight again and took a step away from the door. She looked down at her fingers where they were clasped tightly together. Well, this is awkward, Oliver thought. Bloody parents.

And then Angelina jumped off the couch and ran over to him. She jumped up gracefully and he caught her as she wrapped her legs around him for support.

She smiled down at him. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

He went to answer her but she cut him off with a kiss. It wasn't anything of much importance anyway, he thought.

He made his way blindly to the bedroom and she stopped kissing him and looked around.

"Wow, how pretty. For me?" she asked, batting her lashes.

"Of course," he said, and went to kiss her neck again. Dinner could wait.

He went to the bed and deposited his bundle with an ungentlemanly drop. Angelina laughed up at him and gave him an evil look as she bounced across the bed. Oliver quickly took off his shoes and his shirt. He climbed onto the bed and bent down to kiss her neck again. She arched up against him and whispered something he didn't catch. He reached up and begun to unzip her robe while he moved his lips to hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and he was completely lost to her.

The robe opened freely and he pushed the sides off of her shoulders. He stopped kissing her to look down at her. He saw what she was talking about now. She was wearing lacy red underwear, the panties and bra matching. She really was beautiful, and he told her so. Her mocha colored skin was warm and smooth and Oliver felt he had to touch every inch of it.

She did some touching of her own. Her hands worked themselves out of his hair and down past his neck to his shoulders. They slipped around his back and then back around to his stomach. Her hands were driving him crazy and he let out a breath as her fingers climbed over his chest and his sensitive nipples.

He unclasped her bra and ran his fingers over the delicate flesh of her breast. He stopped kissing her lips to run super soft kisses around each breast. She let out a gasp as he suckled on a hardened tip. He went to the other and did the same as his ears were filled with her cries. He went back to her lips and kissed her wildly. She dropped her hands down to the fly of his pants and he sucked in a breath. Her fingers were destined to drive him mad. He shuffled out of his pants as he removed her panties, the last of his boundaries. When he was done he propped himself up on his elbows to look down at her, glorious and naked.

She met his eyes shamelessly. When she looked down and noticed that he too was naked, though, a faint blush painted her cheeks.

"You're beautiful," she whispered.

Oliver felt his heart fill and he bent his head to kiss her tenderly. Before he had even finished kissing her, Angelina had wrapped her fingers around his flesh. He let out a low groan as she pulled it towards her. He felt that she was more than ready for him and he positioned himself carefully. Grabbing her face and kissing her, he plunged into the sweetest part of her.

They stayed like that, entwined together until both had found release and Oliver collapsed on Angelina, his energy spent.

The room was quiet of all but their breathing. Peace settled in around them.

"You're beautiful," someone whispered.

"I'm glad you came back to me," someone else whispered.

And in the darkened hours of the night, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The first thing Angelina noticed as she squinted her eyes against the sun the next morning was that Oliver was not in bed. The next thing she noticed was the persistent hooting of an owl. Instead of Oliver's head, a brown owl was standing on his pillow. She stretched and yawned widely before getting her robes and sloppily putting them on. The owl was small and cute and sat patiently waiting for her. She went and got the scroll that was tied to its leg. Opening it she saw that it was from one of the girls.

_Hey Angie!_

_I'm back in the country and I have great news. Can't tell you now though. I went to your house but you're mum said your staying over at a friend's? So I went to Fred's but you weren't there either. And you know what he said? He said to "try that bloke, Oliver. She's probably over at _his_ ruddy house." So I thought I'd send you an owl, since I don't know where "that bloke" lives anyway. But are you really there? Please write back soon. I suppose you have as much to tell me, as I have to tell you. Send it back with Persephone. Oh, and if you are at Oliver's, tell me where it is so I can drop by and say hi!_

_Katie_

Angelina knew Katie would want to say more than just "hi". Her friend would probably ask her a billion questions. She smiled to herself. Oh well.

She scribbled back a quick response and the owl went soaring back through the window. She then went into the kitchen and found Oliver cooking breakfast in nothing but his training shorts. She sat at the kitchen table and picked up a strip of bacon. She could get used to this.

"Morning, Angel," he said as he brought over a plate of sausages. He gave her a whopping kiss and Angelina wondered if they really needed to eat breakfast anyway.

"Guess what I just got?" she said when he was done knocking her socks off. If she was wearing socks.

"Hmm, great sex and a good night's sleep?"

She slapped at his arm. "And, I got a letter from Katie."

"That's nice. How is she?"

"Well you can ask her yourself. She's coming over pretty soon."

Oliver's eyes went wide with either surprise or fear.

"Oh," Angelina said casually as she picked up another bacon. "And she knows that I spent the night."

- - -

* * *

A/N: Oh boy. Soooo, how'd you all like the sex scene? Too much? Too little? Just right? Lol. Tell me what you think! Please **review**. 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Yeah. This, for some reason, was _the_ hardest chapter for me to write (I seriously had at least 5 rewrites). And so that's why the update took so long. So, so, sorry. And with all the things going on at school (I've had 4 concerts in 3 weeks) it's just hard to sit down and write—especially if inspiration is lacking. But, alas, I did write it and I like it. : smiles fondly at screen: And I like _you guys_ even more, so hope you enjoy this lil' chapter here. There'll only be one or two more chapters and then thus ends my FIRST EVER fanfic. :) Tell me what you think.

A/N2: _Thanks to my reviewers for sticking with me. Forever grateful :)_

A/N3: Thanks for all the help and input, Charlie.

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter and all its gloriousness belongs to Ms. Rowling. All credits go to her. (I felt like writing it again. It had been so long…)

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**- - - - CHAPTER 10** - - - -

Fred sat at a table in a muggle café somewhere in Puddlemere. He sipped cautiously on his tea and looked out at the other customers. He felt reckless, and restless. He had half a mind to toss back the scalding liquid, but he also felt incredibly lazy and uncaring. And so he sat there brooding: angry but indifferent; frustrated but exhausted. He was prepared to spend many minutes just sitting and thinking over the visit to Oliver's, but then Katie Bell approached the table and sat down.

"They make the best bread pudding here," she said breezily, placing a small piece of the dessert in front of him.

She stared at him for a while and he realized he was supposed to respond.

"I don't like bread."

She rolled her eyes. "I remember in fifth year you and George ate a whole loaf, each, on a Hogsmeade visit."

"That's only because that fool Montague had run his mouth off about eating contests."

"Well there wasn't a contest then. And you didn't seem to mind the bread one bit," she said, turning appealing blue eyes to him.

When she saw that he wasn't making any moves of his own, she took a plastic fork and broke off a little piece of the pudding. She tried to feed him, but he kept his mouth stubbornly shut and she just kept poking his lips.

"_Baby,_" she muttered. "C'mon Fred, don't tell me your still upset over Ange and Oliver?" She poked at his mouth some more.

_Damn woman_, he thought. He was _not_ thinking about that baboon and Angelina.

"Fine. I'll try some," he said after swatting away her annoying jabs. He took the fork from her and nibbled at the pudding. It wasn't so bad actually. Not as good as his mum's, of course, but for muggles, he was impressed.

"And I'm not upset that Oliver's shagging my girlfriend. Oh no, not at all."

"Oh c'mon Fred. You don't know that. She might've just gotten there when I sent her that owl."

Fred snorted. Katie was always the innocent one. She could walk in on a couple snogging and still say that maybe someone tripped and fell onto the other's lips.

But Fred could face the facts.

"And I suppose it didn't matter that her robes were practically hanging off of her and that he was practically dressed in nothing. Oh and don't forget that BIG hickey practically eating her neck." He formed his fingers into claws to show the eating action.

Katie laughed at him. "It _was_ pretty big." When seeing the look on Fred's face though, she sobered up. "I'm sorry, Fred."

She took the fork and broke off a piece of the pudding for herself.

"Last I heard, though, you two weren't dating."

Fred gaped at her. She hadn't even been in the country all summer. Where was she getting this?

"And, what about that blonde girl. Marcy, was it? Is she out of the picture?"

She said all this without having looked up from the bread pudding. Fred was astonished at her gossiping techniques. How did she do it?

"Yes. Marcy's long over with. Ever since Angelina came back to me," he said. But his words mocked him.

He looked down at his now cold cup of tea. How stupid he had been. To think that Angelina would come running back into his arms after he had left her and moved on—and gotten caught. But dammit, he still loved her. Didn't he?

_But if you loved her, why didn't you go back for her?_

He didn't know. He scowled at his thoughts. That annoying voice in his head had been popping up more and more lately. Not surprisingly, it sounded a lot like George.

Meanwhile, Katie Bell let him battle with himself for a while. When he finally looked up, he saw her studying him with her pale blue eyes.

"Well?" she asked.

He stared at her. "Well what?"

She stared at him some more.

He hated when she did that. It wasn't as if he could read her bloody mind.

She shrugged. Suddenly her eyes twinkled and she gave a bright smile. "So, you wanna be my date at my sister's wedding?" She pushed the half eaten pudding back in front of him.

Fred shrugged. "As long as that bloke isn't going to be there, then fine."

She put another little piece of pudding on the fork and pushed it towards his mouth. This time he opened up for her.

"Well, Angelina's one of the bridesmaid too. She just might take him with her."

Fred made a face and was about to respond, but the pudding went down the wrong way.

The café was filled with Katie's musical laughter as the Weasley twin sputtered and choked out his disapproval at Angelina's choices of dates.

- - - - - - - - - -

Angelina spent the next ten days training harder than ever for her Final tryouts. After that, she had the wedding on Sunday and she felt that it was a good consolation prize for all the training.

She had been ecstatic to find out that her friend's older sister was getting married—"to that hot Australian wizard too"—and that she would get to walk in the wedding ceremony as a bridesmaid. Katie had come to Oliver's flat bearing the good news. Fred had come too and it had been, at best, an awkward situation. It hadn't helped that Fred and Oliver had gotten into an all out fight in which Angelina had been equally mad at both of them. Katie had saved it all though when she invited Angelina out for some "girl talk" later that day and promptly left with the brooding twin in her wake.

After they had left, Oliver apologized to Angelina and, in bed, made her forget she had ever been mad at him at all.

The next ten days was filled with blood, sweat, and swear words as Oliver took Angelina through the rigorous first year training of professional Quidditch. She went to his flat daily and was in full access to a training center and on-the-hour professional advice from Oliver himself. Not to mention, the company was good.

A couple days before Tryouts, Angelina was smiling to herself as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her room. She ran a hand down the sides of the sky blue dress robes she had worn for that night's dinner. In celebration of her father's release from the hospital, she had invited Oliver over to "meet the parents". And her brother too, of course.

Oliver had been dead nervous. And with good reason, for her brother seemed to all but apprehend him for going out with his younger sister. At one time, they had disappeared outside for a while and Oliver had come back in, looking ashen faced, with her brother in tow. When she had asked him about it, he shook his head and said in a whisper, "I'd rather not talk about it." Angelina had wanted to press the issue but she knew her brother was just looking out for her. Plus, she never realized how cute Oliver looked when he was scared.

- -

All too soon though, Friday the 13th had come and it was Angelina's turn to be nervous. She didn't dare let it show, for her coach/boyfriend would have her hide for showing weakness.

On that all-important morning, it seemed all that could go wrong, _did_ go wrong. She cursed the heavens and blamed the ill-fated day. She didn't even need to walk under ladders to get bad luck it seemed. Oliver told her to calm down. Her issues had nothing to do with the day. Brooms broke all the time. Ketchup just happened to fall onto Qudditch robes. And anyone could mix up the switching spell with the slicing spell. He was sure many wizards ended up slicing up their equipment bags as they went to switch logos. Angelina had wanted to change the "Griffindor Lions" logo to say "Chudley Cannons" just for good measure.

It wasn't any better when she got to tryouts and saw that _three_ other chasers were trying out for the one spot on the reserves team. And they were all men. Angelina didn't let them faze her, however. If anything, seeing the challenge in them, she pushed that much harder during tryouts. And at the end, Oliver was there to wrap her in his arms and tell her she did wonderfully. By that point, she didn't really care anymore. She was just glad that it was over and that he was with her.

- - -

And then, because time is inevitable, it was the day of the wedding. Angelina had told her parents she was staying at a friend's the night before to get ready for the event. Instead she spent the entire time with Oliver, basking in his boundless loving. She awoke to feel his warm body embracing hers and she lay there for many minutes, happy to be wrapped in his arms. Eventually though, she felt him move against her. Where he had been warm before, now he was warm and hard. Angelina smiled to herself, knowing that he couldn't see her because her back was facing him.

He moved in closer, pressing her naked body closer to his. She pretended to be asleep. He started caressing her stomach and hips lightly. As his fingers trailed upwards, Angelina fought to suppress giggles. He must've noticed because he started tickling her. She let out a squeal and turned around to face him.

"You vixen. I thought you were still sleeping," he said pushing away her curls to frame her face with his hands.

She kissed his nose. "Nope. But we gotta get up now, anyway. We have to get dressed."

He groaned into her hair as he laid feather light kisses along her cheek and ears. "Do we really have to?"

She sighed in contentment. "You supposing we just skip the wedding all together?"

He pretended to ponder it for a second as he played with the curls in her hair.

"Yeah, I say we skive off the wedding. Say you've got a headache. Or a stomachache. Or a sex-ache." He kissed her flush on the lips and she giggled at him, keeping her lips shut.

"The only ache I have is a hungry-ache," she said when he pulled back a little.

"Is that so?"

He ran a hand down her back and over her buttocks. He pulled her in closer to him and she gasped against his lips. His other hand came around to caress her breast and he heard her mumble something that sounded like, "breakfast can wait."

"Now we're talking," he said with a smile.

- - -

And indeed, they were delayed enough to have to miss breakfast and go straight to the church, instead.

Oliver thought Angelina looked absolutely stunning in her dress of sea green with little Rhine stone designs. They all looked nice, but Oliver only had eyes for her. Apparently so did Fred. Oliver sneered at the Weasley twin when he saw him with Katie. George was there too, accompanied by Alicia. It was the old Group again. But it wasn't the same good feelings like before.

Later, as he walked Angelina down the aisle, Oliver felt an onslaught of foreign feelings. Although they were just preceding the true bride, Oliver felt that this wedding could have been his. The girl at his side never looked more radiant and Oliver thanked the heavens and counted his blessings for having the chance to make that walk down the aisle with her.

At that moment Angelina looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back and took her hand as they came to a stop at the side of the alter. Soon after, the bride was making her famed walk down the aisle with tears in her eyes. Oliver had to admit it was beautiful. He never had much liked weddings when he was smaller and had to go to them. He realized, now, how magical they truly could be. When the final vows were spoken, he clapped along with everyone else as he heard Angelina say, "Oh, good. Now lets eat!"

- - - -

The reception was lovely and Angelina danced with Oliver a good deal of the time. There had been many picture taking and guest greeting before everyone had departed to go to the reception hall. The decorations were beautiful and Angelina had changed into dress robes of silver and blue. She felt more comfortable and had had a bit of wine with her food. She supposed she was feeling a little tipsy.

"You know, Oliver," she said, looking up at him. He wasn't much taller, but Angelina had also taken off her shoes—the better to dance. "Maybe I don't want to dance with you anymore."

Her voice held a teasing tone and Oliver spun her in a fancy dance move and dipped her.

"That's just too bad, Angel. I've got my dancing shoes on and I can go all night."

Angelina giggled as he spun her again. "I'm not wearing shoes," she said with a slight slur.

Oliver led them away from the busier parts of the dance floor and closer to the exit. A cool breeze could be felt, blowing in from the outside.

"I wish you weren't wearing a lot more."

With a quick turn, he brought them outside into the cool evening. The sun was just disappearing over the horizon and Angelina snuggled close as he placed an arm around her shoulder.

Where they were headed, neither knew, but it was good to just walk along the courtyard. Oliver realized it was the least stressed he had felt in a long time. And Angelina wondered why there weren't more breezy, beautiful evenings like this during the year. She supposed there were, but she had never had Oliver to spend them with.

They sat on a bench under a Willow tree and watched as fairy lights began to light up the yard. Oliver sat there, content while trying to ignore the part of his brain that kept reminding him that he would be leaving her soon. His Quidditch season would start before hers (he honestly believed that she would make the reserve team), reserve training for the season started much later than the professional team players. And he would be in Puddlemere while she would be in Chudley. Not exactly down the street.

But he didn't let these thoughts creep into his head like they had been doing the past couple days. He wanted to frame this day in his memory and keep it for when he did leave. There just weren't enough of these perfect evenings—not with her by his side, anyways.

He had just begun to think she had fallen asleep on his shoulder when she pointed up at the sky. Just a couple stars were peaking out.

"Make a wish," she said simply.

He chose the brightest star and did just that. He looked down at her face.

"Did you make one too?"

She smiled up at him. "I think it has already come true. So I wished for a new broom."

Oliver laughed aloud, remembering how she had broken hers the very day of her tryouts. She had ended up using one of Oliver's many spare brooms.

Oliver looked up at the stars. Perhaps his wish was coming true too, as he sat there watching the stars with her.

It was in that state of innocent bliss that an owl found the happy couple. Could the owl's thoughts be heard, it would be warning them right now. It would feel guilty for having to interrupt their peace with its bad news. Because the owl knew the letter would be bad news. His master produced plots of nothing but evil.

But the owl's thoughts couldn't be heard, and so it landed innocently onto Angelina's lap, hooting softly.

Angelina smiled down at the owl and stroked its head. Oliver was still too caught up in his thoughts and watching the stars to notice the interruption. Angelina untied the note and the owl took off in flight. She watched it disappear into the moonlit sky before looking back down at the note.

Oliver had noticed the owl flying away and now waited expectantly for Angelina to open the note. She was tempted to just tuck it away for later; she didn't want to ruin the peaceful stupor that had befallen them. Eventually though, she gave a slight shrug and began to open the note; it was best to get it over with.

Before she had even finished unfolding the paper, a hoarse, animalistic cry erupted from nearby.

"What the—?"

They spun around to face the woods, located some distance behind them. The trees seemed spooky in the approaching darkness and no source of the sound was seen.

"What _was_ that?"

Angelina stood up and walked to the very edge of the woods. Oliver came up next to her and stopped, neither trusting the ominous shadows within the trees.

They turned and looked at each other, not sure what to do next. Suddenly they heard it again. The cry was more a strangled moan now and seemed to be located directly in front of them, just out of sight.

Angelina's heart started to beat faster, and beads of sweat appeared at her brow. She felt a tug at her heart. Similar to the room at headquarters where she had met Harry, she felt descending gloom envelope her—become a part of her.

She heard the moan again and before she knew it, her feet had carried her away from the balmy evening, with its twinkling stars and Oliver, and into the darkness of the woods.

Oliver watched Angelina disappear into to the shadows. The trees and bushes swallowed her up as she pushed through them, and then they snapped back like a gate to keep him out. He didn't have a good feeling about this disturbance. He longed to go back to sitting with her under the stars.

Either way, he started to follow her into the woods when he saw something lying on the grass. The note that Angelina had yet to open, lay unfolded near the roots of a tree. That's weird, he thought.

He picked it up and was about to refold it when he saw the message written in bright red.

_To see what is unheard,_  
_ To cry tears unwept.  
__Who saves souls from heaven?  
__Who place hold to their death?_

Oliver looked at the blood-red words. His brain struggled to make sense of the weird poem, and then, within a second, he was racing into the woods.

By this time Angelina was long gone and Oliver half feared that his feet was leading him away from her, instead of to her.

After running a while, he realized he had no idea where she had gone. He stopped and leaned against a tree while taking deep breaths and willing his heart to cease its loud beating. He grabbed his wand and lit the tip, searching the nearby trees. After walking a few feet he caught sight of a faint light in the distance. He approached it until he came to a clearing.

Just beyond the leaves of a bush, he saw them. Angelina knelt on the ground with her legs fanned out beside her. In her lap lay the head of a baby unicorn. Its body was bruised and a small gash on its leg leaked silver blood that glimmered in the moonlight. It had begun to lose its goldish hue and now its hide bordered on silver. Its skin also produced its own light and it glowed brightly, lighting up Angelina's now dirtied robes and hole in her stockings. Her shoes still lay somewhere in the reception hall under a table.

With the light from the injured unicorn, Oliver could also see the tearstains on Angelina's cheeks.

"It was attacked," she said quietly while she stroked its head. The unicorn let out another moan of pain and struggled restlessly until Angelina calmed it with soothing words.

"I don't know who would harm a unicorn. It's the worst kind of bad luck," she said after another couple of moments.

By this time Oliver had moved into the clearing and knelt beside Angelina and the unicorn.

"And there's more," he replied.

The moonlight shining upon her face, coupled with the silverish gold hue from the unicorn, made her seem like a divine being descended from heaven.

_Who saves souls from heaven?_

He unfolded the note and gave it to her. The unicorn moaned again.

_Who place hold to their death?_

Oliver just knew this couldn't be good.

- - - - - -

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A/N: Ok, so what ya think? **Please review**. 


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: OK, so it has been oh-so-long since I've updated. But I have excuses—eh—I mean I have valid reasons. Honestly, though, I've been beta-ing. lol, well not me, but I've found a beta. And, thankfully, now all my grammar mistakes are fixed. So I've gone back and replaced all my chapters so that I'm not slashing up the English language with all my bad grammar. **Thanks a bunch **of grapes **and then some **to my beta, Charlie! Writing is so much better with a beta. :-)

Also, I've been taking final exams for the past two weeks and two days ago…I **graduated**. High School was fun, and as soon as I turn 18, I'm sure college (university) will be even more fun! lol. But enough blabbing. Thanks to my reviewers for reviewing. And Charlie for beta-ing. And on to the story!

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- - - - **Chapter 11 **- - - -

Red sparks illuminated the night sky so far above them, the trunks of the surrounding trees barely lit up. Oliver sent up a couple more for good measure and then put his wand away. He looked back over to Angelina where she still sat with the unicorn. She was kneeling closer to its injured leg now, inspecting the gash that was there.

"Its magic is too strong," she said in frustration. "I don't think any of my spells are going to work."

She looked over to him and Oliver saw that her eyes held no more tears, just a fierce and determined gleam. She had taken the mysterious note quite well, displaying little emotion except a hardening of her eyes.

"You know," she had said, wiping away the last of her tears. "This is starting to get a little _bloody _old. Don't you think?"

Now she was huddled over the unicorn again, pondering the likelihood of one of her healing spells working on the magical creature. Her bent figure was illuminated by the glow of the unicorn's hide and she looked remarkably visible—and vulnerable. Oliver just wished the magical law enforcement would hurry up and get there.

As Oliver stood there observing his red sparks in the sky, a gust of wind brought the sound of rustling leaves from somewhere in the woods. Oliver knew the help crew wouldn't try to sneak up on them from the bushes. Everything in the clearing seemed to freeze as he listened carefully. He heard it again. The unicorn raised its head and let out a little whimper.

Oliver looked over to Angelina. "Stay here. I'm going to see what that was."

Angelina started to get up, causing the unicorn to whimper again.

"Oliver, wait, I'm coming too."

He pushed through the leaves and bushes encircling the clearing, leaving her behind.

"Oliver! Oliver, dammit!" she called again, but he was already rushing ahead.

Some distance into the forest, he stopped and listened. The sounds had stopped now and Oliver was about to rule it out to be night creatures. Suddenly, though, a wand was pushed into his face.

"_Lumos,_" someone whispered.

The light from the unidentified wand shone brightly in Oliver's eyes, blinding him.

"Oliver?" the voice said again.

"Who is it?" he growled out.

The wand refused to lower.

"Get that bloody light out of my face."

The owner raised the wand high above, casting a small orb around the pair.

Oliver blinked and looked back at a crooked grin on a freckled face. Looking closer though, Oliver saw that the grin didn't quite reach the sharp eyes looking back at him.

"Sorry, mate," Fred replied, not sounding too bothered by it. "Couldn't have been sure."

"You found them, then?" A second voice asked, followed by approaching footsteps.

An identical face popped into Oliver's line of vision, the light from that wand adding to the little orb.

"Oy, Oliver. We were looking for you, mate. Where's Angie?" George asked. He then looked around the woods at the enclosing leaves and the thick tree trunks. The crescent moon shone high above and the stars twinkled romantically.

George's eyes took on a harder glint. "It's such a nice night to be all alone in the woods, though, Oliver."

"Oh but he's not all alone, George," Fred spoke up, taking a step closer to Oliver.

"True, he's not," George answered, taking his own step forward. "So where's Angelina?"

Oliver refused to feel uncomfortable as the twins boxed him in. He put on a bored expression and was still deciding whether to tell them to sod off or reveal Angelina's whereabouts when a series of loud pops and voices filled the nearby area.

"You didn't see the sparks then?" Oliver finally asked as the boys started looking over his shoulder towards the clearing.

"Oh, those sparks" one of them said as they pushed around Oliver.

"We figured it was something," the other said, following his brother.

"Used it to get here…"

"But we figured you were lost…"

"So we were going to let you stumble around for a while longer…"

Oliver swallowed his frustration and turned around to follow the twins back to the clearing. By now the ani-med wizards would probably have taken away the unicorn. He lengthened his stride and caught up with the twins. They all reached the clearing at the same time.

"What happened here?" one of the twins asked, letting out a low whistle.

There were a couple of witches and wizards poking around the clearing now. Some were taking samples of the silverish unicorn blood that still glowed on the forest floor. Others were using spells to search the darker areas of the clearing for more evidence. Some guy was taking pictures, probably for the daily prophet. Who Oliver didn't see, though, was Angelina. She wouldn't have gone back without him.

"Oh good, you're here," a booming voice called out.

Oliver looked over to see a portly wizard ambling over to one of the twins with his notepad out.

"The young lady started giving us a statement, but then just ran off into the woods. But never the mind, she said her boyfriend was there with her and could fill in any missing details."

Oliver started heading off in the direction the man had pointed to, all the while thinking that Angelina had called him her boyfriend.

He had just reached the edge of the trees again when he heard the twin stammer, "Well, actually…I'm not her boy…well to say, I wasn't with her. Oliver, here, was—"

But whatever he was supposed to be, Oliver didn't hear. At that moment,quite clearly, but still softly, he had heard a scream. It came from deeper within the woods and, for the third time that night, Oliver went charging into its darkness.

"Wait! But where is he going?"

Oliver raced forward until the sounds and voices from the clearing faded away. He remembered to light his wand and held it high above his head. He called out her name but the trees were so thick, he was sure the sound only traveled but a few yards. On his third yell he tripped over a raised tree root and would have gone sprawling onto his face if he hadn't grabbed onto a low branch. But that wasn't the only reason he had stopped himself from falling. Floating just several inches in front of him, at chest level, was a miniature scull and serpent. It glowed bright green and looked almost identical to the real Dark Mark.

Oliver leaned against the tree trying to catch his breath.

"_Lumos Intentia,_" he whispered. His wand produced a brighter beam of light that lit up more of the area.

He didn't see anything at first and his heart pounded horribly as dread settled over him. Thoughts raced through his head. He had lost her right in front of his eyes. He shouldn't have left her. She had been abducted; _he just knew it_.

The crescent moon beamed down on him, the stars twinkled merrily, and the Dark Mark floated peacefully, mockingly. Within a second, Oliver swung around and punched the bark of the tree. He let out a cry of frustration, mixed with pain, as his wand rolled out from his fingers. He closed his eyes tight; his hand might be broken, but he didn't pay it that much mind.

When the silence stretched on again, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He checked his hand and saw that he could still move it. He bent down to pick up his wand, but stopped. The beam of his wand lit up a folded piece of paper partially hidden under a pile of leaves. Thinking it was Angelina's note from before, he made to just put it in his pocket. Something caught his attention though, and when he unfolded the paper, there was no blood-red ink or confusing poems. Just two sentences.

_I've got what you want. Take the portkey and give me what **I** want._

Following the beam from the tip of his fallen wand, he saw what looked like an old, dirty soda can. On it was written 9:23. Oliver checked his watch and saw that he had less than a minute to spare. He picked up his wand and the soda can and held on to it tight.

His head whipped around in surprise when he heard footsteps and saw red hair and freckles emerge from the thicket of tree leaves.

"Where'd that come from!" Fred asked (at least Oliver figured it was Fred). Fred pointed towards the floating miniature Dark Mark.

Oliver sighed, wishing Fred would just go away. The second hand crept closer and closer to 9:23.

"They've got Angelina," he found himself responding, distractedly. "I don't really think it's a whole Death Eater crew, that mark is just a ghost of the real spell." _Only a couple of seconds now._ "They seem to want something. I don't know what, but I'm going to find her." _Three…two…one…_

"Me too."

And just as Oliver began to feel that familiar pull at his navel, a hand grabbed onto his and the two boys were whisked away into a blur of color and wind.

- - - - - -

_He's mad_. _Insane._

She wasn't sure why it took her so long to see that, but now that she did, she could've kicked herself. Angelina smirked to herself as she remembered that she had kicked _him_ a couple times before he had managed to tie her up with actual rope.

"And I had been watching you and him. Potter. I saw you two at that house." He let out a cackling laugh. "You didn't see me though. Oh no, no. No one ever sees me."

He wobbled around the small room in glee. Angelina admitted to herself that he disgusted her. He was a short little man who constantly glanced over his shoulders, or ducked down on the floor, as if he was being followed. He didn't look to be much older than her father, but his voice sounded aged and almost raspy. And surprisingly, he was exceedingly strong.

"I saw you two at the house, I did," he continued to talk to her although all Angelina would do was glare at him. "With the whole family of those red heads. I saw you two. Tried to blend in, did you?"

He cast a sharp look over his shoulder and then ducked down. After seeing that, indeed, no one was following him, he straightened up again and continued his gleeful pacing.

"Oh, but I had been following you, yes I have." He cackled again. "I've been doing exactly what master tol—"

Angelina got fed up with his story. "Look. What the bloody hell do you want with—"

Her words were cut off effectively as a hand made a hard contact with her face.

"_Don't interrupt me, whore!_"

The slap had wrenched her head to the side and when Angelina rolled her head back to the front, she saw him looking over his shoulder again. He started muttering to himself as he hurried over to the door at the far end of the room. He opened it and peeked outside; then he closed the door again. After a second he repeated the process, opening and closing the door for a while.

Angelina ignored the sting in her face and glared at the evil little man checking and rechecking whatever room lay outside the door. _Bastard_, she thought. If only she could reach her wand in her robe pocket.

Along with the sting in her face, there was also a dull ache in her foot where she had kicked a tree in an effort to escape the man abducting her. Her robes were ripped at the shoulders where he had dragged her further into the woods and her wrist stung where the rope bit into them.

She ignored all of that though, and focused her hardest on trying to reach the wand she knew was still in her left pocket. Her hands were clasped behind the back of the chair on which she sat. Her feet were bounded too. Now, more than ever, she wished she knew wandless magic.

The little man came back to stand in front of her. She took up glaring at him again, feeling disgusted when he suddenly broke into a smile.

"I've been doing exactly what my master told me," he continued as if there hadn't been an interruption at all. "Follow them, he said. Watch them, he said. I was so _good_!"

His voice rose in excitement and the sound seemed to scare him. He cast darting looks over his shoulder and ducked down again.

"But he didn't know I was doing more." He came towards her and leaned in close. Angelina willed herself not to turn away at the disgusting smell of firewhisky and sweat. "I saw him change himself," he practically whispered. "He changed himself so he could hide from me."

He turned away from her then, and Angelina let out the breath she was holding.

"He couldn't hide!" he shouted. Again the furtive look over his shoulder.

He lowered his voice, "I could see right through him. And I know that you two were out tonight planning my masters downfall."

He turned and gave her a sinister look then. And for the second time that night, he slapped her hard across the face. "_Slut!_"

"Dammit!" she growled out. "You're flipping crazy!"

"_Crucio!_"

Angelina experienced a blaze of pain, but it was short-lived and not as excruciating as she thought it would be.

He was too busy looking over his shoulders and ducking behind what little furniture was in the room (an armoire and a small table) to notice the spell wasn't very effective.

Angelina took deep breaths as the sharp pain faded away. He wasn't really good at spells. She had noticed this before when it took him three tries to make a portkey out of the old soda can he had brought with him. He also couldn't perform the right binding spell and had conjured ropes to tie her up instead. Angelina figured he was the worst Death Eater ever, and she just knew she could out duel him if she reached her wand.

He came back to stand in front of her.

"Where is Potter?" he demanded. His eyes grew wild and he bounced nervously on his heels. "Master will not be happy if Potter doesn't show up. I left him a portkey. _Our Lord will not be pleased!_" he wheezed out at last.

This man was crazy. Angelina was exhausted from the fight with him earlier on in the woods when he had tried to abduct her, and she was still throbbing and stinging from the abuse he laid on her during his insane ramblings. She fixed him with her sternest glare.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

His face contorted with rage. He looked like he was about to slap her again.

"_Silence! You bitc—_"

Angelina pulled her foot out of its binds and kicked up hard. She heard a sickening _crunch_ as her foot connected with his groin. She watched as her captor doubled over in pain.

"Bastard!" she spat down at him. He rolled around the floor in pain, mumbling to himself between wheezes. She tried the rope around her hands again and wiggled her hands free.

She stood up and grabbed her wand but by this time he was crawling on the ground towards his wand. Angelina made a dash for the door and just got through as a spell bounced off the wall behind her.

She heard him give a tortured scream in the room behind her but she just kept on running. Her feet took her down a long, dark hallway and as she heard footsteps behind her, she dashed into one of the many doors lining the hall. This door led to another hallway and without thinking she let her feet carry her into the darkness.

- - - - - - -

Both boys landed hard on the carpet of a dark room.

"_Nox_" Oliver whispered, and his wand tip went out immediately. He turned to Fred, who was making his way to get up, and shoved him hard back onto the floor. Oliver stood over him menacingly.

"What the bloody hell'd you come for?" he asked in an angry whisper.

Fred stood up quickly, brandishing his wand. "Lay off it, _Oliver_," he said with a sneer. "You're not the only one who bloody cares about Angelina, you know."

Oliver was too angry to care. He pointed his wand directly at Fred. "What makes you think I give a flying fu—"

"Shut up, Oliver! Shut up will you," Fred whispered, cutting him off. "Listen."

Oliver clamped his mouth shut, but kept his wand up. At first he only heard his heart racing, but then he heard other sounds. Arguing.

He turned to look at the shadowy outline of Fred. The room they had landed in contained no windows and had only one door. Both boys crept towards the door, wands held out, and listened hard to what the argument was about.

"_I. don't. care. Gobbo_!" a harsh voice shouted. "Imbecile!"

Another voice could be heard mumbling something between weeps.

"But…but…master…please…"

"_Shut up!_" What sounded like a slap resounded through the door and the weeping increased.

"How many times must I tell you not to put on my Death Eater robes and mask?" the harsh voice continued.

"Master…master…please…"

"And you've lost her. _In. the. house!_"

"She got away…m…master. She was so strong. I've been…been…watching her and Potter tonight."

"Potter is at the Weasleys tonight, you lackwit. You were tracing the wrong guy."

"No…no master. He changed himself. He changed himself to look different, he did. I know. I saw him."

"Shut up! We must find her before she becomes a problem. She cannot get out of the wards I put up, but we must find her. She's seen too much, thanks to your _stupidity_." Another slap was heard.

"Yes…yes master," the other voice said after a while. "She…she ran into the vanishing corridors."

"She could be anywhere in the house. Check the upstairs."

"Yes…yes master…"

There were footsteps leading away from the argument.

"And Gobbo…don't disappoint me again. Or your punishment will be severe."

"Yes…yes master…"

Oliver looked over and saw Fred's taut expression and his tight knuckles gripping the wand. Oliver wondered if Fred's heart was beating as fast as his was. They had to find Angelina and _soon_.

They listened again as the last pair of footsteps left the room. All was quiet and Oliver looked over one last time to see if Fred was ready. He opened the door slowly and stuck his wand through first. Fred did the same, and then they both jumped into the room.

The room was bright, but empty. Only a few pieces of furniture were scattered around and black robes were lying discarded on the floor. The white Death Eater mask was nowhere to be found. Several doors led out of the room and there was no clue to which way the arguing pair had gone. Oliver looked towards Fred.

"We've got to find her, soon."

Fred ran agitated fingers through his red hair. "I know. But, dammit. Those bastards! Do you think they hurt her while she was here?"

Oliver swallowed as the more aching thought came to mind. "Well, they'll kill her if they find her before we do."

Fred swore under his breath. "What the hell are we waiting for, then. Let's go."

Fred made to run off through a door but Oliver stopped him.

"If we separate, we might not find each other again. We need a way to contact each other."

Fred paced impatiently. Oliver knew they were loosing precious seconds, but one of them might get left behind if Angelina was rescued and the other person couldn't be found.

Suddenly Fred snapped his fingers. He dug into his pockets, searching for something. When he finally pulled out his hands, a gold sickle rested in his palm. "Do you know how to do a protean charm?"

Oliver stared at the coin for a while. He remembered something of it, but it had been years since he's been in school. "I think I remember, but what do you need to do?"

"Well, last year in school, Hermione charmed all of the coins in the DA to mimic Harry's so that we'd all know when the secret meetings were." Oliver didn't quite understand what the DA was or how the coins would work but Fred forged on. "And if you can charm our coins to be connected to each other, we can use a simple searching spell to find the other one.

Realization slowly dawned on Oliver. It was an interesting piece of planning and Oliver was surprised—and impressed—that Fred had come up with it.

He reached into his pocket and took out his own gold sickle. With a definite plan in action, his mind was able to race back to the spell he had learned in the last weeks of his 7th year. He took the coins and placed them side-by-side on a table. Focusing his attention on the coins alone, he took out his wand and stood back.

"_Proteus __Dimidium_"

Nothing happened for a second and then the coins rose into the air. They glowed an eerie red color and spun around themselves until their images blurred. Within a second, they were back on the table, each with a half of it cut out so that the other would fit. It resembled the ying-yang symbol, one coin being black and the other silver.

"Whoa. Now I wish I hadn't left the end of 7th year."

Oliver grabbed up a coin and stuck it in his pocket. "C'mon, we have to find her."

Fred picked his piece up and then looked towards the many doors leaving the room. Randomly he ran towards a door and disappeared behind it.

Oliver chose another door and opened it. A long, dark hallway lay beyond it and he let his feet carry him into the darkness.

- - - -

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? Review please. You'll get a treat! lol. This is Part I by the way. The second half to this section of the story is coming very soon. Summer vacation is here and it's wonderful. :-) 

Also…thanks to evilevergreen for going back and reviewing all the chapters. I appreciate you're comments and insight on things. :-)

And of course, I always love the long reviews Angelface04 leaves.

But thanks to everyone for reading the chapters…whether you've reviewed or not because it means so much to me. >>:gets all teary:>> lol, but really. Reviews make my day, so thanks _everyone_!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hi everyone. I'm updating again. I had this chapter written for a while now. But I didn't want to put it up until I got more reviews. (I only got 2 last chapter. Was it bad?) Well, either way, this is the second half to the escape scene. I really like this chapter, so I hope you do too. This story is definitely drawing to an end. But its ok, we all wait in anticipation for HBP, so I'm gonna take a break until then. Hope you enjoy the second half!

Thanks to _April9876 _and _a little ­magic_ for reviewing. And thanks to anyone who reviewed before and after this point.

Thanks with all my heart to my beta _Charlie_ who always makes me feel like I could give JK a run for her money. (Though I know I couldn't…its always nice to have such praises.) So…Thanks!

And on to the story…

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**- - - - CHAPTER 12 - - - -**

Angelina felt like she had been running forever. The darkness never seemed to recede and she was weary of lighting her wand, lest she attract her captor. Each door she ran through took her to another hallway. Sometimes the hallways were long and twisting; sometimes they were short with only one or two doors lining the sides. Along with darkness there seemed to be a constant hum of whispered voices. The little man that had captured her must have alerted others. They all seemed to be just behind the doors and Angelina expected someone to jump out and attack her at any second. So, she ran on. Her Quidditch training never seemed more valuable than now.

After many, many minutes of running through doors and hallways, Angelina stopped. Or more, she stumbled. Her breath came out in painful wheezes as she leaned against the wall. She had the unnerving feeling that she was never going to get out. She felt trapped in a maze and she was almost sure she had been in this hallway before.

She had never liked mazes, not even the ones on paper. She hated the feeling of being trapped with the exit in sight, but the route unclear to her.

Whispered voices echoed from behind closed doors, but Angelina just leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She was sure the voices were testimony to the slight hysteria she felt coming on. _She was going to be running forever_.

The whispers eventually grew louder and were suddenly followed by footsteps. Angelina opened her eyes to see a door blast open.

She turned around and ducked down just as a white-hot jet of purple light flew close to her head.

"_Expelliarmus!_" she shot back over her shoulder.

She didn't know if her spell hit its mark as she raced towards the end of the hallway with its solitary door. Apparently it didn't for soon she heard footsteps following her.

"_Relashio!_" the voice screamed.

Just then the door at the end of the hallway opened and the little man who had abducted her jumped into the hallway.

"_Incarcerous!_" he screamed at the same time.

Angelina thought fast.

"_Protego!_"

A shield enclosed her as the two curses bounced off it. The first spell bounced off harmlessly into the surrounding wall. The second spell, cast sloppily by the little man, bounced off towards the man who had cast the first spell.

"Gobbo!" the man yelled as magical ropes wrapped around him, trapping his wand hand.

"_Master!_" the little man squealed in fright.

Angelina used this distraction to take aim.

"_Stupefy!_"

The little man slumped over, unconscious in front of the door.

"Arg!" the other man screamed.

Angelina looked back and finally saw who had thrown out the first curse. But actually, she _didn't_ see who it was for the man was wearing a white Death Eater mask.

Angelina ran to the door at the end of the hallway, stepping over the little man sprawled on the floor. The last thing she saw as she ran through the door and flung it closed was the Death Eater breaking through the magical ropes and glaring at her.

Again she ran. The hallway was another long and dark one, lined with doors. She chose one at random and ran through it. Another hallway followed. Again she ran.

She felt like she was going in circles, but Angelina was beyond caring now. Another door took her into a short hallway with two doors on the left and one on the right. She made her way blindly to the farthest door on the left when a door burst open behind her.

Startled, she turned around and pointed her wand.

"_Impedimen—_"

"Angie, wait!"

Her hand shook as she stopped her spell in mid-cast.

A wand light came on and she felt almost weak with relief at seeing Oliver's face.

"Angie. We gotta get you out of here."

He walked over to her and she noticed he was limping a little. The amount of danger that they were in hit her again.

"Your leg…" she breathed out.

"Yeah, I met up with one of them in a hallway not long ago," Oliver said holding her close. "Damn, you're bleeding," he said grabbing her head.

She reached up gingerly to touch her forehead and winced as her finger brushed across a fresh cut. That purple spell had hit her after all. She felt chills starting to creep up her body and knew it was the first sign of panic. She could not afford to panic now, though. She grabbed Oliver's hand, pulling him towards the door she had intended to go through before.

"Wait," he said. He reached into his pocket and retrieved what looked like a silver coin. A half of it was missing.

"_Questio Dimidium_," he whispered, touching the tip of his wand to the coin. The coin rose in the air and glowed red. It floated over to the one door on the right and hovered in front of it.

"What does that—" she started to ask.

He grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

They opened the door and the coin sailed through the door into another hallway. It floated to a door on the right and hovered there, waiting for them to catch up.

The coin continued to lead the two through many hallways.

"That was a search spell?" Angelina finally asked as they went through yet another door into a dark hallway. "You've found the exit, then?"

The coin floated on, choosing a door and hovering in front of it.

"No…" he answered slowly.

The last door had led them not to another hallway, but a lighted room. They cautiously stepped inside and watched as the coin floated to the door at the other end. It now produced a bright green glow.

"We're looking for Fred." Oliver said at last. He walked towards the door.

"Fred came too?"

Something didn't feel right to Angelina and she couldn't quite place it.

Oliver turned the knob, looking over his shoulder. "And I think we've found him."

As Oliver disappeared behind the door, Angelina realized what seemed so eerie. The whispered voices had stopped. The constant footsteps had seized. The absolute silence was deafening and without thinking, Angelina rushed in after him.

"_Somnus_" a raspy voice wheezed out before she had really set foot through the door.

And all went dark.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Angelina woke up to hear voices.

"I'm surprised you managed that spell, Gobbo."

The agitated voice sounded far away. Another voice sounded much closer.

"Yes, master. I put her to sleep."

Angelina realized the voice of the little man right away. She lay right where she was, feigning sleep. She couldn't have been out but a couple seconds.

"Good," the other voice said with a sneer. "I tire of your mistakes."

Angelina heard the little man gulp. Then the other voice came again.

"Tie her up quick and put her with the others. I will dispose of them all."

"Yes…yes, master. What about Potter?"

The other voice laughed sinisterly. "What _Potter_? Gobbo, you disappoint me. You have gone senile in your years. How can you mistake this…this, Quidditch player for The Boy Who Lived?"

"But…but…"

"Quiet! Do what I say or you will be joining these three."

The little man conjured ropes and began to tie her feet together. Angelina peaked open one eye to see her lying in a room not unlike the first one she had been held in. In the far corner of her vision she saw Oliver and…Fred! They were both bound and gagged. Fred looked to have been beaten up quite badly.

Angelina looked down towards her feet to see her captor struggling with the rope. His back was turned. Angelina looked across the room and saw the man in the Death Eater mask watching over the boys, his back turned as well.

Angelina knew this was her chance.

"_Impediamenta_" she whispered towards the little man. His hands stopped working immediately as he froze over her feet.

Angelina hurriedly undid the rope on her feet, watching to make sure the Death Eater still had his back turned.

"Gobbo! Do not make me ask for her another time!"

As the Death Eater made a frustrated noise and turned towards her, Angelina pointed her wand at the armoire behind him.

"_Reducto!_" she screamed.

The huge cabinet seemed to explode and fell over onto the man. His body became submerged under the planks of wood and the frame of the cabinet.

"_Master...!_"

The little man struggled against the spell. Angelina knew she didn't have much time.

She ran over to Oliver, the closer of the two boys, and removed the gag. He was fighting to say something.

"Get him first. He doesn't seem to be breathing!"

Angelina looked over to Fred whose face was pale as ash and very still. She untied his bounds and leaned in close to his face. He was barely breathing. She ran through her healing spells she had spent a whole summer learning at healing camp after her 5th year. Only one came to mind that could actually help him, and as she muttered the correct words, she just hoped he would hold until they got out.

"You…you…whore. You…you…sp…spiteful…sl…sl…slut!"

Angelina barely registered the little man's tortured quarreling. He was still fighting the bounds of the spell—and it was wearing off—but she was too preoccupied to notice.

"Oh…oh…my…my…master. You…you…wretch. You…you…you _killed him!_"

Angelina was knocked backward as a spell hit her square in the chest. She hadn't even heard the little man utter the incantation. She lay sprawled next to the man in the Death Eater mask. He was starting to stir.

"You killed master!" the little man wheezed from across the room.

Angelina could barely lift her head, but she saw him standing menacingly on the other side of the room. He apparently didn't notice that his master was stirring behind Angelina. His face was filled with a rage she had never seen before.

"Now," he said in a low growl, "I must kill you!"

"No!" Oliver screamed from where he still lay bounded with magic.

Fred shifted slightly, moaning against his painful wounds.

The little man raised his wand high and screamed wildly—

"_Avada Kedavra_"

Angelina closed her eyes tightly, knowing she could not escape the killing curse. Even behind her eyelids she could see the glow of the green light racing towards her. Time seemed to slow down as she waited an eternity for the spell to take her life.

An eternity didn't last that much longer.

"_MASTER!_"

Angelina opened her eyes to find herself very much alive and unharmed. Across the room the little man was in a fit. He jerked and twitched in what seemed like agony.

"_MASTER! OH, MASTER!_" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Angelina looked behind her where she saw that the man in the Death Eater mask had managed to sit up before…before…

She looked at him. The Death Eater mask hid his face, but his body was slack and…lifeless.

Ignoring the screams coming from the writhing little man, Angelina reached over and removed the white mask.

Vacant eyes stared back at her. His mouth was slightly opened in surprise and his face was even more pasty and pale than Fred's had been.

Angelina dropped the mask and scuttled away. She had never seen death before and she felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. She had just managed to hold on to her lunch as strong arms came around her and pulled her close. Oliver had gotten out of his bounds.

"Angie…"

That one whispered word, spoken close to her ear, seemed to block out the gruesome image of death.

The little man still wailed pitifully but Angie didn't hear anymore. She turned around and buried her head into Oliver's shoulder. And for the second time since Oliver had come back into her life, he held her while she cried.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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A/N: Please…_please_…**please?**…review! lol. Hope you enjoyed it. See you soon with the final (or so) chapter. :-)

---Crzy


	13. Epilogue

A/N: Must hurry, must hurry! I haven't been able to use my computer for almost 2 weeks because of a move and vacation. But today the men have come to install the internet and so I can finally update the last chapter to Second Time Around. I really loved writing this fanfic. _Sooo_ much fun. So when I go get the book tonight at midnight (YAY!), maybe I'll be inspired to write others. Thanks **sooooo** much for each and every review and for anyone who read my lil' fic. Hope it was enjoyable :-). Thanks very very **_very_** much to my beta, Charlie, who came into the fic at a late stage but was still so important to it anyway. Yum! **Betas**—made from the best stuff on earth.

And now that I'm done with my end-of-the-story speech, let me explain some things.

A/N2: Firstly, I made up a couple spells in the story. _Lumos Intentia_ which is just "intense" lumos. _Proteus Dimidium_ which is the protean charm and _dimidium_ means "half" so I was charming the coins into halves that were linked to each other. And finally, _Questio Dimidium_ which is a search spell. _Questio_ means "search". Latin is a very cool language.

And then, the question about the Gobbo thing. A couple people were asking me to explain it, so I'll do so briefly. Gobbo is not Wormtail and "Master" is not Lord Voldemort. I suppose I might have subconsciously fashioned Gobbo to be like Wormtail, but that wasn't my conscious intent. "Master" is just a random Death Eater in which I didn't even bother to reveal his name and Gobbo is some deranged old man, perhaps an old friend of "Master", that somehow became enslaved by the Death Eater. Hope that clears everything up. And now…the story.

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* * *

**- - - - Epilogue - - - -**

_Crack!_

Angelina appeared right in front of the large, cushiony couch in the living room of the flat. On her face was a beaming smile and giggles threatened to burst free with joy. One of the owners of the flat was sitting, slouched, on the couch, pointedly ignoring the girl that had materialized in front of him. One look at his face and Angelina burst out laughing.

He threw an angry look at her and scowled.

Angelina had already been back to her flat and had changed out of her robes. Instead she stood comfortably in light blue shorts and a white t-shirt. Oliver still donned his Quidditch robes of royal blue with the "Puddlemere United" logo on the sleeve. He was dirty and sweaty and it didn't look as if he'd moved from that couch since when he had apparated back to the flat at the end of the game. That was half an hour ago.

"Do you mind not looking so smug? Poor Anderson's in the back room crying right now."

He seemed serious, but Angelina wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Surely Puddlemere had lost games before. Maybe hiding and crying was what Oliver was longing to do himself, she thought snidely.

She went to go sit on his lap but he crossed his arms and gave her a reproachful look. She laughed again; he was so predictable. She straddled his lap instead, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Oliver," she whispered as she stroked the back of his head. She leaned back and spared him a compassionate look. "It was inconsiderate of me to come over here gloating when my team had just KICKED YOUR BUTT!"

She laughed harder as Oliver tried, without success, to dislodge her from his lap. The ensuing struggle lasted for a couple moments until Oliver had flipped them over and had Angelina pinned beneath him.

He glared down at her for a second and then bent down to kiss her. "You're a hell of a flyer, Johnson. Always thought so."

Angelina beamed up at him. "Well you blocked most of my shots," she pointed out earnestly. "—except for the four I got through!"

Oliver growled in false rage and started tickling her, his only power against her at the moment. Angelina laughed until she thought she might die—happily, of course.

When he had finally stopped and she lay gasping for breath, he flipped them onto their sides. The chair was barely big enough for one person and so they were uncomfortably close, legs and arms entwined.

"Yeah, well, there was something in my eye," he shot back feebly. Angelina just grinned some more.

He kissed her again. She loved these impromptu kisses. She felt the joy bubbling up inside of her again, aching to be released. Like when she was flying, she decided suddenly. His kisses made her feel like she was up in the air again—flying.

He rested his head next to hers and gave her a mock indignant look. "I didn't know you'd be playing today."

"Whyles was out for injury since our last game against the Tornados. They had been putting me in for extra training for weeks."

He looked hard at her again. It had been a hefty secret to keep. She had known she would be playing chaser against Oliver, but she wanted it to be a surprise. He didn't take it so well, apparently.

"Aw, don't look so sad, Oli. We're only halfway through the season," she said softly, looking at his disgruntled expression. When he still didn't look appeased, she wrapped her arms around his neck again and gave him a big, smacking kiss on the lips. "Who knows…" she said with a shrug when she pulled back.

"Who knows," he repeated huskily, kissing her again. And again, and again. Big, sloppy, smacking kisses that made Angelina giggle as she swiped at the wetness on her face, and her heart filled with joy.

He flipped them over again so Angelina was now on top, Oliver pinned beneath her. He didn't seem to mind at all.

Angelina sat up and bounced joyfully on his stomach while Oliver made exaggerated faces of pain. Everything seemed so very funny to her. She laughed heartily.

The noise from the living room must have drawn Anderson from his room because he suddenly walked in on them.

"Oh, hey Paul," Angelina said over her shoulder, a little embarrassed. She made to get off of Oliver but he held her in place.

Anderson, his eyes curiously red, stared from Angelina, to Oliver pinned beneath her, back to Angelina again.

"Uh, I think I'll just head out. You two…uh…have fun. Be safe," he added as an after thought, and apparated away.

Angelina gave an embarrassed sort of giggle. "I thought you were lying about him being here. He didn't have to leave—"

"Oh yes he did!"

Oliver grabbed Angelina's face and pulled her down for a long, heated kiss. Knowing where this would undoubtedly lead, Angelina pulled from his grasp and jumped off to the floor. She ran towards Oliver's bedroom shouting over her shoulder, "Last one there is a bludger brain—".

Before she had even reached the bedroom though, Oliver's strong arms caught her from behind and spun her around. She knew she was caught; done for. The joyous ache inside of her swelled to a bursting point as Oliver wrapped her in his arms. Angelina had lost this little game, but she didn't mind at all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* * *

A/N: Fin!

And remember? Oliver's roommate is named Paul Anderson. I had Angie use his first name because she doesn't know him that well.

**_Review_**, por favor?


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